BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Bank Cards: Surcharges

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 524W, on bank cards: surcharges, when the legislative guidance that will accompany the ban on excessive surcharges will be published.

Jo Swinson: The guidance will be issued this week and will be placed on the Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills

Bank Cards: Surcharges

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 542W, on bank cards: surcharges, what steps he will take to ensure that the legislative guidance is sufficiently detailed to ensure that surcharges are fully cost-reflective.

Jo Swinson: The prohibition against a trader charging consumers more than the costs borne by the trader for the use of a given means of payment is laid down in the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/3110). The guidance will indicate the kinds of costs which the Department considers may be reflected in any payment surcharge but it cannot change the requirements of the regulations nor is it a substitute for them. In practice, the size and nature of those costs will vary with the type of business concerned, the particular means of payment and the contractual arrangements on which the business relies to use those means. It will be for each trader who wishes to impose payment surcharges to assess the costs it incurs which are exclusively attributable to using a particular payment means and to ensure that the payment surcharge does not exceed those costs.

Copyright

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2013, Official Report, column 173W, on copyright, which representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises he has met to discuss the regulatory effect of the modernising copyright proposals in the last year; if he will publish the (a) agenda and (b) minutes of any such meetings; and whether the issue of increased costs of litigation as a result of the modernising copyright proposals was discussed at such meetings.

Jo Swinson: Ministers in this Department have met a range of stakeholders, including representatives from the creative industries, on a number of occasions to discuss copyright issues including the Modernising Copyright proposals. A range of issues of interest to the relevant stakeholders were discussed. The Government has no plans to publish the agenda or minutes of these meetings.
	The Government have introduced measures to reduce the costs of litigation on intellectual property issues through the Patents County Court, including caps on costs and damages and a new small claims track for simple cases.

Food

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protection legislation in relation to the food industry.

David Heath: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	It is unacceptable for consumers to be misled in the way that has been recently uncovered and the fundamental principle established in food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must be accurate.
	The Government will, of course, take account of the recent events concerning the discovery of significant amounts of horse DNA in beef products. However, we should keep in mind that food fraud and mis-labelling already contravenes current and forthcoming regulations and that we are looking carefully at how enforcement can be made more effective.
	The Food Information to Consumers Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 came into force in November 2011 and most of the provisions will apply from 13 December 2014. Consumers are also protected by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs, 2008). It is an offence under the CPRs to omit material information, to hide material information or to provide material information in a manner which is unclear, unintelligible, or ambiguous. Material information is information which the average consumer needs, according to the context, to take an informed transactional decision.

Foreign Investment in UK

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what targets UK Trade and Investment has set for inward investment (a) projects in respect of and (b) visits to each nation and region of the UK.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has a target for foreign direct investment projects covering all four nations. In 2013-14 the target is 750 investment projects. All devolved Administrations (including Northern Ireland) have their own investment promotion agencies who may have individual targets for foreign investments. UKTI has no visits target.

Foreign Investment in UK

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential level of project opportunities for Northern Ireland arising from the UK Trade and Investment National Pipeline of prospective investors.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment collects data from the UKTI network and local delivery partners on foreign direct investment opportunities. As of March 2013 there are 41 potential project opportunities where Northern Ireland is specifically tagged as a location of interest. There are a further 2,189 opportunities where the project could potentially occur at any location in the UK, including in Northern Ireland.

Foreign Investment in UK

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many instances of foreign direct investment into Northern Ireland were identified or developed by the UK Trade and Investment network in each of the last three years.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) records data on all foreign direct investment projects into the UK. Instances of foreign direct investment into Northern Ireland identified and supported by the UKTI Network in each of the last three years are:
	2011-12: 20 out of 27 total projects into Northern Ireland
	2010-11: 7 out of 44 total projects into Northern Ireland
	2009-10: 7 out of 49 total projects into Northern Ireland

Foreign Investment in UK

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the relationship between UK Trade and Investment and Invest Northern Ireland.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Invest Northern Ireland (INI) have a good working relationship to support overseas exports and attract inward investment. By way of example, INI are now co-located with UKTI in India (Mumbai and Bangalore), Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), Iraq and Kurdistan (Erbil). Senior officials from both organisations meet regularly to discuss both strategic trade and investment issues, operational matters including service delivery arrangements, and trade and investment evaluation.

Growth Voucher Scheme

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Financial Statement of 20 March 2013, Official Report, column 938, how funds will be distributed through small and medium-sized enterprises growth vouchers; how applications for funding will be made; by what date expected funds will be (a) allocated and (b) drawn down; and what processes, benchmarks and deadlines he and his officials have put in place in relation to those vouchers.

Michael Fallon: The growth vouchers programme announced in the Budget will be designed over the coming months with input from the private sector. The programme will test a variety of innovative approaches to helping small and medium-sized enterprises overcome barriers to achieving growth, such as limited use of external advice.
	In January 2014, growth vouchers will be accessed through a new private sector led online marketplace and target up to £2,000 of match funding to firms with no more than 50 employees, helping them find the support they need, public and private.

Overseas Trade: Russia

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment has been made of the factors which tend to inhibit UK businesses from seeking to operate in the Russian market; what assessment has been made of the extent to which the risks assessed by UK businesses are well-founded; and what he is doing to encourage UK businesses to venture into the Russian market.

Michael Fallon: Russia presents significant opportunities for UK business. It is the world's leading energy producer and its 9(th) largest economy. The Russian Government's economy modernisation and infrastructure development agenda is underpinned by 140 million consumers' appetite for quality services and goods.
	Through the Overseas Business Risk service UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have brought together authoritative, accessible and topical information on Russia, and the key issues related to the political, economic and business security environments.
	http://www.ukti.gov.uk/export/countries/europe/easterneurope/russia/overseasbusinessrisk.html
	There are difficulties associated with doing business in Russia with corruption often cited as the major concern. However, although Russia is ranked 112(th) on the World Bank's “ease of doing business” index (up this year from 120(th)) it compares relatively favourably with other BRIC markets: Brazil is 130(th) and India 132(nd).
	UK companies should not be afraid of doing business in Russia. Neither should they, however, assume that business is done the same way in Russia as it is done within the European Union. UK Trade and Investment is a good source of information and advice which can help unlock potential opportunities in this market. UKTI has clear targets to assist increasing number of British businesses trading with Russia and to promote the UK's reputation as a trade and investment partner. At a strategic level the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills also co-chairs the annual UK-Russia Intergovernmental Steering Committee with First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

Post Offices: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many operational post offices there were in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last 10 years.

Jo Swinson: Post Office Ltd is responsible for operational matters concerning the post office network, which includes the information requested. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the chief executive of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

UK Trade & Investment: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many members of UK Trade & Investment overseas staff have visited Northern Ireland for the purposes of information gathering and fact-finding in each of the last five years.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment does not keep records of visits of overseas staff to Northern Ireland.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Crimes of Violence: Females

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to paragraphs 46 to 48 of the Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls action plans, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the implementation of the recommended actions; and what specific role the Gender Champion at the UK Border Agency will have with respect to such actions.

Mark Harper: The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Action Plan was refreshed and re-launched on 8 March 2013—International Women's Day. The Home Office works closely with Departments across Government to monitor progress against the Action Plan. Home Office Ministers chair a regular Inter-Ministerial Group on Violence Against Women and Girls, in order to drive progress and hold Departments to account on their actions to tackle VAWG. The specific actions to which the hon. Member refers relate to gender sensitivity in the asylum system. These actions are also being incorporated into the UK Border Agency's ‘Women's Issues in the Asylum Claim’ action plan. The actions in this plan are regularly reviewed and monitored at meetings of the Quality and Equality Sub-Group of the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum. The UK Border Agency gender champion takes a close interest in all gender issues across the agency, and will take an oversight role in ensuring that these actions are completed.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received from women's organisations on tackling violence against women.

Damian Green: The Government work closely with women's organisations to ensure our strategy to end violence against women and girls identifies, protects and supports victims.

Databases: Telecommunications

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what capital expenditure has been undertaken since May 2010 as part of the Communications Capability Development Programme.

James Brokenshire: I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 13 February 2013, Official Report, column 757W.

Databases: Telecommunications

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff (a) of her Department and (b) seconded from (i) other Departments and agencies and (ii) the private sector are employed within the Communications Capabilities Directorate and on projects associated with the Communications Capabilities Directorate.

James Brokenshire: As at March 2013 the Communications Capabilities Development programme includes:
	(a) 73 Home Office civil servants
	(b) Staff Seconded from:
	(i) Other Departments and agencies—6
	(ii) The private sector—0.
	Although not employed directly by the Home Office, the Communications Capabilities Development programme currently has a number of privately contracted subject matter experts and technical personnel deployed on the programme through support services contracts. Over the lifetime of the Communications Capabilities Development programme the number of these personnel has varied, responding to business need.

Driving: Eyesight

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given to police officers attending a road traffic accident to require drivers to be tested as to their competence to comply with the minimum distance eyesight requirement to read a vehicle number plate.

Damian Green: This is an operational matter for the police. The police can test a driver's eyesight at the roadside to determine whether he or she meets the minimum eyesight requirements for driving. If the driver fails the roadside test, the police can inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency who will revoke the driving licence.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of trends in the number of student visitor visas that have been issued in the last year.

Mark Harper: In 2012, 68,372 student visitor visas were issued, 6,966 more (+11%) than 2011.
	Further detail is given in the Home Office Immigration Statistics October—December 2012. This states that although there has been a 6,966 increase in student visitor visas issued in 2012 at the same time as a fall in Tier 4 study visas of 52,066, the pattern of these changes for individual nationalities does not indicate a clear or consistent relationship. The nationalities accounting for most of the 52,066 fall in study visas issued (Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) have seen only very slight changes in the number of student visitor visas issued (+73, +20, +8 and -12 respectively).
	The Home Office Immigration Statistics October-December 2012, including a summary of trends is available at:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q4-2012/study-q4-2012

Human Trafficking

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will recommend that fighting modern-day slavery be made a strategic priority for police forces.

Mark Harper: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department set out in the Strategic Policing Requirement that fighting organised crime must be a priority for all police forces. While it is for police and crime commissioners to determine local policing priorities, they must have regard to this requirement. The requirement sets out the threats that the police must address and the appropriate national policing capabilities required to counter those threats, respecting the operational independence of the police.
	I expect all forces to treat human trafficking extremely seriously.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 500W, on police and crime commissioners, if she will review her Department's policy regarding free delivery of information regarding candidates for police and crime commissioner elections in light of the recent report by the Electoral Commission.

Damian Green: There is no such thing as a free mailing. Information about every candidate was published online and delivered free of charge to those who requested it. The Electoral Commission's proposals would entail spending taxpayers' money on supporting political candidates. It is the Government's job to balance this cost with the benefit to the public. The Government decided that the £30 million cost to send individual candidate mailings, as is the case in general elections, was not the right use of taxpayers' money.

Police: Northamptonshire

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers there were in Northamptonshire police force area in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013.

Damian Green: The latest available information shows the number of police officers and police community support officers in Northamptonshire police force, as at 31 March 2010 to 2012 and 30 September 2010 to 2012 (full-time equivalent). The next set of figures as at 31 March 2013 is due to be published in July 2013.
	
		
			 Number of police officers and police community support officers in Northamptonshire police force, as at 31 March and 30 September 2010 to 2012(1,2) 
			  Police Officers Police Community Support Officers 
			 31 March 2010 1,343 164 
			 30 September 2010 1,337 168 
			 31 March 2011 1,306 166 
			 30 September 2011 1,262 163 
			 31 March 2012 1,234 161 
			 30 September 2012 1,220 149 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) These figures are published within the Police Service Strength bulletins found on the Home Office website.

Sickness Absence

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many days (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies has lost to staff sickness in each of the last five years; and what estimate she has made of the cost of such absence in each year;
	(2)  how many officials in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have had (i) fewer than five days, (ii) five to 10 days, (iii) 10 to 15 days, (iv) 15 to 20 days, (v) 20 to 25 days, (vi) 25 to 50 days, (vii) 50 to 75 days, (viii) 75 to 100 days, (ix) 100 to 150 days, (x) 150 to 200 days, (xi) more than 200 days, (xii) more than three months, (xiii) more than six months and (xiv) more than one year on paid sick leave (A) consecutively and (B) in total in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: The information is as follows.
	(a) Table 1 provides information on the number of days lost to staff sickness in the Home Department (including its Executive Agencies) for the last five full financial years, along with an estimate of the cost of such sickness absence.
	(b) Table 2 provides information on the number of days lost to staff sickness for each non-departmental public body for the last five full financial years, along with an estimate of the cost of such sickness absence.
	Information for the current financial year (2012-13) will be available from mid April 2013.
	(c) Table 3 provides information on the number of days lost both to short (less than 28 calendar days) and long term (29 or more calendar days) sickness in the Home Department (including its Executive Agencies) for the last five full financial years.
	(d) Table 4 provides information on the number of days lost both to short and long term sickness for each non-departmental public body for the last five full financial years.
	Information supplied complies with Cabinet Office guidelines for the reporting of staff sickness. A further breakdown of this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information for the current financial year (2012-13) will be available from mid April 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Home Office working days lost (full-time equivalent (FTE)) and cost of sickness absence: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12(1) 
			 Financial year Working days lost (FTE) to sickness absence Cost of sickness absence (£ million) Staff employed in period (FTE)(2) 
			 2007-08 264,579 n/a 25,090 
			 2008-09 228,521 24.28 25,875 
			 2009-10 216,928 24.21 26,547 
			 2010-11 221,525 24.46 29,224 
			 2011-12 200,904 25.89 26,939 
			 (1 )Information for the current financial year will not be available until mid April 2013. (2 )Information relating to staff employed during the period is included to show how the number of working days lost compares to the number of staff working in the Department during the same period. This is in line with Cabinet Office guidelines. Notes: 1. Extract Dates: 1 April of each year. 2. Periods covered: Data are given by financial year and each year covers the period 1 April to 31 March. 3. Organisational coverage: Includes Home Office Headquarters (including Border Force) and the Executive Agencies. For all years this includes the UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau. Additionally, figures for 2011-12 include the Government Equalities Office (within Home Office Headquarters) and National Fraud Authority. 4. Employee coverage: Figures are based on FTE of all paid civil servants employed during the financial year (current and leavers), apart from the staff employed in period (FTE) for 2007-08, where it was only possible to provide the FTE figure for current paid civil servants as at 31 March 2008. 5. Transparency agenda considerations: Figures are provided in line with Cabinet Office guidelines and conventions on sickness absence reporting. 6. Rounding: Working days lost (FTE) and staff employed in post (FTE) figures are subject to rounding +/- 1. Cost of sickness absence figures are provided to the nearest £10,000. Sources: Data from 2008-09 onwards taken from Data View—the Home Office's single source of Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate Human Resources data. Data View was introduced in June 2008, therefore information for 2007-08 has been taken from other sources—Working Days Lost data from the Department's Permanent Secretaries Management Group (PSMG) quarterly sickness absence return and Staff Employed in Period data from the Department's Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES). Information on the cost of sickness absence for 2007-08 is not available. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Home Office non-departmental public bodies working days lost and cost of sickness absence: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12(1) 
			 Financial year Number of days lost to sick absence Estimate of cost of sickness absence (£ million) 
			 2007-08 31,049 3.63 
			 2008-09 25,346 3.63 
			 2009-10 25,832 3.60 
			 2010-11 28,269 3.91 
			 2011-12 28,903 4.01 
			 (1 )Information for the current financial year will not be available until mid April 2013. Note: This response includes data for the Independent Safeguarding Authority (from 2008 onwards), Independent Police Complaints Commission, Security Industry Authority (from 2008), the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. Although the Equality and Human Rights Commission was sponsored by the Home Office during this period, their data are included in the response for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. This response does not include data for the National Policing Improvement Agency as to do so would incur a disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Home Office working days lost (full-time equivalent (FTE)) by short and long term sickness absence: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12(1) 
			  Working days lost (FTE) to sickness absences  
			 Financial year Short-term Long-term Staff employed in period (FTE)(2) 
			 2007-08 126,767 137,812 25,090 
			 2008-09 116,552 111,969 25,875 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 116,874 100,055 26,547 
			 2010-11 121,918 99,607 29,224 
			 2011-12 105,365 95,538 26,939 
			 (1 )Information for the current financial year will not be available until mid April 2013. (2 )Information relating to staff employed during the period is included to show how the number of working days lost compares to the number of staff working in the Department during the same period. This is in line with Cabinet Office guidelines. Notes: 1. Extract dates: 1 April of each year. 2. Periods covered: Data are given by financial year and each year covers the period 1 April to 31 March. 3. Organisational coverage: Includes Home Office Headquarters (including Border Force) and the Executive Agencies. For all years this includes the UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau. Additionally, figures for 2011-12 include the Government Equalities Office (within Home Office Headquarters) and National Fraud Authority. 4. Employee coverage: Figures are based on FTE of all paid civil servants employed during the financial year (current and leavers), apart from the staff employed in period (FTE) for 2007-08, where it was only possible to provide the FTE figure for current paid civil servants as at 31( )March 2008. 5. Transparency agenda considerations: Figures are provided in line with Cabinet Office guidelines and conventions on sickness absence reporting. This includes classifying absences as short or long term rather than in the groupings stated in the question. Short term sickness absences are classified as those of 20 working days or 28 calendar days or less. Long term sickness absences are classified as those of 21 working days or 29 calendar days or more. 6. Rounding: All figures are subject to rounding +/- 1. Sources: Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate Human Resources data. Data View was introduced in June 2008, therefore information for 2007-08 has been taken from other sources—Working Days Lost data from the Department's Permanent Secretaries Management Group (PSMG) quarterly sickness absence return and Staff Employed in Period data from the Department's Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES). 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 4: Home Office non-departmental public bodies days lost by short and long term sickness absence: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12(1) 
			  Working days lost to sickness 
			 Financial year Short-term Long-term 
			 2007-08 30 262 
			 2008-09 691 468 
			 2009-10 1,229 239 
			 2010-11 1,328 1,160 
			 2011-12 1,239 1,027 
			 (1) Information for the current financial year will not be available until mid April 2013. Note: This response includes data for the Independent Safeguarding Authority, Disclosure and Barring Service (from December 2012) and the Independent Police Complaints Commission. This response does not include data for the Security Industry Authority, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, the National Policing Improvement Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency, as to do so would incur a disproportionate cost.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer question 146165 on charges for sexual offences tabled on 27 February 2013 for answer on 4 March 2013.

Damian Green: I answered parliamentary question 146165 on 21 March 2013, Official Report, column 798W. I am sorry for the delay in answering this parliamentary question.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crime: Victims

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Attorney-General whether the Crown Prosecution Service in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England always seeks where it can with the cases it prosecutes to ensure that victim impact statements are made and victim compensation orders sought.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has an important role to play in ensuring that a Victim Personal Statement (VPS) is available and that applications for Compensation Orders are made to the court in appropriate cases.
	The CPS does not keep information on the number of VPS statements obtained or on the number of applications for compensation. However, in all cases, the prosecution advocate must be ready to assist the court to reach the appropriate decision as to sentence, and this includes drawing the court's attention to any VPS and its powers to award compensation, inviting the judge or magistrate to make such an order where appropriate.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what recent assessment he has made of the quality and performance of internal anti-fraud controls at the Crown Prosecution Service.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) formally assessed its vulnerability to fraud in November 2011 when it conducted a fraud risk assessment under the auspices of the Treasury's ‘Managing the Risk of Financial Loss' initiative. The assessment provided an assurance that the CPS had appropriate and proportionate anti-fraud controls in place.
	Following the discovery of fraudulent payments to a supplier in its West Midlands area, the CPS commissioned investigations to ascertain the extent of the fraudulent activity, how the prescribed controls were circumvented and whether the controls were being applied correctly in other parts of the organisation.
	One strand of this activity will address specifically the question of the quality and performance of internal, anti-fraud controls at the CPS.

Driving: Eyesight

Bob Russell: To ask the Attorney-General how many drivers were prosecuted for failing to meet the minimum distance eyesight requirement to read a vehicle number plate in each of the last five years.

Oliver Heald: The offence of driving a motor vehicle on a road after failing to meet the minimum distance eyesight requirement is prosecuted under section 96(1) and schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central record of the number of individual drivers that were prosecuted for this offence; however, a record is maintained of the number of offences charged that reached a magistrates court hearing.
	
		
			   Financial year 
			 Act/section Offence 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13(1) 
			 Road Traffic Act 1988 (96(1)) and Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 Drive a motor vehicle on a road with eyesight which did not comply with requirements 36 37 26 29 31 
			 (1) April 2012 to February 2013. 
		
	
	This data relates solely to CPS prosecutions, as proceedings under this section are initially commenced by the police and are only prosecuted by the CPS once they become contested.

PRIME MINISTER

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answers to the Liaison Committee of 12 March 2013, if he will take steps to revise (a) the terms of the Armstrong Memorandum or repudiate its terms and (b) the terms of the Civil Service Code in order to reflect the views he expressed; and if he will make a statement on the obligation of civil servants to appear before select committees to explain and defend the acts for which they are responsible.

David Cameron: In the Civil Service Reform Plan the Government committed to strengthen the accountability of the civil service and to clarify the responsibilities of accounting officers. The plan sets out various actions to address this. The Cabinet Office is reviewing the guidance for Departments on providing evidence to Select Committees. The Government will liaise with interested parties within Parliament as part of the review, including the Liaison Committee.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Horsemeat

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there is an open criminal investigation into the illegal adulteration of horsemeat.

David Heath: Investigations are under way into a number of cases and are being led by the Food Standards Agency. Police forces are involved, the lead police force being the City of London police. It is not appropriate to comment in any further detail on ongoing investigations.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made an estimate of the proportion of badgers in the two pilot cull areas which will be (a) trapped, (b) snared and (c) baited before being killed; and what proportion he expects will be killed through other controlled shooting methods.

David Heath: Controlled shooting and cage-trapping followed by shooting are the only culling methods permitted under licence from Natural England. Both are likely to involve pre-baiting. In removing the minimum number of badgers, set out by Natural England to the licensees in authorisation letters issued on 27 February 2013, these methods can be used in combination or as single control methods.
	It is for the licensees to decide how many badgers should be culled using the different methods.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) farms were placed under bovine TB controls, (b) farms had bovine TB reactors and (c) cattle tested positive for bovine TB in each of the two pilot cull areas in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how much compensation was paid to meet the cost of bovine TB reactors in each such pilot cull area in each such year.

David Heath: The number of cattle slaughtered as reactors in each of the last five years in England and the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire (where the pilot areas are located) are:
	
		
			  England Somerset Gloucestershire 
			 2008 26,392 1,498 2,433 
			 2009 25,539 1,235 2,268 
			 2010 23,895 1,399 1,604 
			 2011 25,879 1,918 1,781 
			 2012 27,740 1,952 1,922 
		
	
	Data on how much compensation was paid to meet the cost of bovine TB reactors in each pilot cull area is not available. However, data on the average TB reactor values in England in the last five years can be used an indicator of the likely local average TB reactor values. The figures are:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2008 1,027 
			 2009 1,147 
			 2010 1,162 
			 2011 1,139 
			 2012 1,205 
		
	
	These figures are derived from dividing the total compensation paid in England by the total number of TB reactors in England. The figures in 2012 are subject to change as more statistical data is received.
	Figures are not currently available for the number of farms that were placed under bovine TB controls and the number of farms that had bovine TB reactors in this period. These statistics will be published on DEFRA's website once additional quality assurance checks have been completed.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely cost to (a) his Department, (b) the Food and Environment Research Agency, (c) Natural England, (d) the Home Department, (e) local police constabularies and (f) other Government departments or organisations of supporting the bovine TB badger cull trials in each financial year from 2012-13 to 2018-19.

David Heath: The badger control policy is based on a cost-sharing approach with the farming industry. The industry will be responsible for the operational costs of delivering culling and DEFRA will bear the costs of licensing, monitoring and policing the policy. The costs to Government for a typical 350km(2) area as set out in the impact assessment are:
	£0.4 million for licensing;
	£0.7 million for monitoring;
	£2 million for policing;
	£0.1 million in relation to an increase in TB incidents in the neighbouring area.
	We would expect these costs to be offset by savings as a result of reduced TB incidence within the control areas and in neighbouring areas, extending for five years beyond the culling period. The Government currently bears the majority of the cost of TB incidents by paying for TB testing and compensation for slaughtered animals.
	The cost assumptions used to calculate these estimates are per pilot area over a four year period of culling. The pilots are subject to increased monitoring of the humaneness, effectiveness and safety of controlled shooting. We anticipate that Government costs would be lower for any culling areas licensed subsequently (including the pilot areas), as the monitoring costs in particular would be lower.
	Total expenditure in 2014-15 and beyond will depend on Ministers' decisions on wider roll-out of the policy.
	The cost to DEFRA of implementing this policy is being met from within its existing budget. Further details on the estimated costs are set out in the impact assessment, which is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/documents/bovine-tb-impact-assessment.pdf
	This will also be available in the Library of the House.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 392W, on bovine tuberculosis, if, before the two pilot culls commence, he will review the badger population estimates in light of (a) the significant short-term variations in badger numbers, (b) the addition of new badger cubs in the early spring pulse and (c) any other factors.

David Heath: The badger population estimates published on 22 February 2013 are based on fieldwork carried out in summer/autumn 2012. There will inevitably be some changes in the population between the time of this fieldwork and the time of culling, due to births, natural deaths and migration. However, any difference between the population as measured at the same time point in different years is likely to be small. Therefore there is no intention to review the population estimates before the pilot culls commence.

British Overseas Territories

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding was allocated to the UK Overseas Territories for projects relating to environmental protection in 2010 to 2015.

Richard Benyon: Between 2010 and 2013, DEFRA has allocated approximately £3.2 million to environmental projects in the UK overseas territories through the Darwin Initiative, the Flagship Species Fund, our international biodiversity budget and our research budget.
	We will shortly be announcing the outcome of Round 19 of the Darwin Initiative which is expected to include over £2 million worth of new environmental projects in our overseas territories. This will include the first projects under the Government's new 'Darwin Plus' fund which is jointly funded by DEFRA, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID).
	In addition to this, the FCO and DFID also fund projects in our overseas territories through their Environment Programme and Official Development Assistance budget respectively.
	Most Darwin Plus projects span at least two years but funding decisions for future years have yet to be taken.

Climate Change

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the Environment Agency's capability to deliver its new climate change adaptation role as the delivery arm of the Government's National Adaptation Programme.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has not made a formal assessment of the Environment Agency's new climate change adaptation role. However, the Environment Agency has considerable expertise on climate adaptation, for example, through its lead role in flood risk management and the sustainable use of water resources. It is able to draw on its local delivery network and partners to reach key audiences, including business and local authorities. DEFRA will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the Climate Ready Support Service.

Dogs: Imports

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dogs were added to the Index of Exempted Dogs in 2012.

David Heath: I can confirm that 497 dogs were added to the Index of Exempted Dogs in 2012.

Environment Agency

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many legal cases brought against the Environment Agency between May 2010 and February 2013 were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful; what the value of settlements was in each successful case; who the recipients were in each such case; and what the cost of defending these cases was.

Richard Benyon: Of the legal cases brought against the Environment Agency between May 2010 and February 2013, (a) 41 were successful and (b) 78 were unsuccessful. The following table contains the value of settlements in each successful case, and where possible the recipients and the costs of defending those cases. It is correct as of 14 March 2013.
	
		
			  Recipient(1) Value of settlement (£) Cost to defend(2) 
			 1. Health and Safety Executive (3)228,563 38,000 
			 2.  206,000 21,070 
			 3.  187,734 7,610 
			 4.  160,000 53,600 
			 5.  110,000 22,000 
			 6. Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd and Peel Holdings (Land and Property) Ltd (4)80,000 51,780 
			 7.  75,790 13,060 
			 8.  50,750 12,000 
			 9.  47,000 1,932 
			 10.  45,600 560 
			 11.  45,021 (2)— 
			 12.  44,500 5,970 
			 13.  31,500 2,700 
			 14.  30,966 3,580 
			 15.  29,512 626 
			 16.  25,716 1,490 
			 17. East Riding of Yorkshire Council 25,550 8,530 
			 18.  25,485 3,230 
		
	
	
		
			 19.  16,200 3,350 
			 20.  15,112 3,060 
			 21.  14,500 (2)— 
			 22.  11,250 1,400 
			 23.  10,566 1,270 
			 24.  10,216 1,660 
			 25.  10,000 6,750 
			 26.  10,450 1,310 
			 27.  10,000 17,900 
			 28.  8,800 1,240 
			 29.  4,000 (2)— 
			 30.  2,000 (2)— 
			 31.  500 6,260 
			 32. EMR Group (5)— 17,951 
			 33. EMR Group (5)— 1,642 
			 34. n/a No payment 35,000 
			 35. n/a No payment (6)10,300 
			 36 n/a No payment 9,730 
			 37. n/a No payment 5,940 
			 38. n/a No payment 4,250 
			 39. n/a No payment (2)— 
			 40. n/a No payment 0 
			 41. n/a No payment 0 
			 (1 )Some payee data is anonymised for data protection reasons. (2) Where a figure is absent this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Costs do not include those related to the in-house team—this could be provided for each case only at disproportionate cost. (3) In fines, costs to HSE and statutory charge. (4) Awarded to claimants. This has not been paid as case is under appeal. (5) Claimant counsel's costs yet to be settled. (6) Estimated.

Findus

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he intends to meet Mr Dale Morrison of Findus to discuss that company's response to the contamination of meat products.

David Heath: The discovery of horse DNA in products labelled as beef is completely unacceptable. Findus was represented at the meeting held by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 18 February with food industry leaders. At that meeting it was agreed that food businesses and Government had to work together to restore consumer confidence in the UK food industry.
	It is the responsibility of food businesses across the supply chain to ensure that food is correctly described and ingredients are as stated on the label. Investigations into cases where horsemeat has been discovered will continue.

Flood Control

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on the provision of adequate funding to prepare and adapt homes, businesses, agricultural practices and infrastructure against the threat of flooding;
	(2)  what additional funding his Department has made available to the Environment Agency for new projects to prepare and adapt homes, businesses, agricultural practices and infrastructure against the threat of flooding.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA is on course to spend £2.3 billion on reducing the risk from flooding and coastal erosion over the four years to 2015. The Partnership Funding approach makes funding available towards any worthwhile flood and coastal erosion risk management scheme. The amount of funding the scheme will attract is based on factors such as damages avoided to homes, businesses, agricultural land and infrastructure.
	Many flood management projects, funded wholly or partly by DEFRA, and maintenance work, undertaken by the Environment Agency, reduce the risk to farmland. For example, schemes which completed in 2011-12 provided an improved standard of flood protection to more than 180,000 acres [74,000 hectares] of farm land.
	The partnership funding formula sets the economic benefits of protecting critical infrastructure at a lower rate than for protecting households. This sends a clear signal to the owners of critical infrastructure that they must adapt and make it more resilient to climate change, not expect the taxpayer to defend it in every case.
	The 2012 autumn statement announced £120 million for flood defences in England during this spending period, which will speed up the construction of around 50 schemes, protecting up to 60,000 households and delivering up to £1 billion in economic benefits. Half of the funding has been targeted to schemes that will, in addition to delivering improved protection to households, deliver economic growth, create jobs and grow the economy.
	For example new defences can now go ahead in Exeter (which will create over 1,000 jobs, protect over 2,000 homes and businesses which employ 4,700 people) and in Ipswich a tidal barrier will improve flood protection to ten hectares (24.7 acres) of development land attracting more business to the area and creating 4,000 jobs.
	On 6 December 2012, DEFRA launched a new scheme to support innovative demonstration projects designed to improve a community's overall resilience to flooding. £5 million will be available to fund a total of up to 20 projects in the period up to March 2015.
	The scheme aims to:
	Enhance flood risk management and preparedness in ways which improve a community's overall resilience;
	Demonstrably improve the community's financial resilience in relation to flooding; and
	Deliver sustained improvements which have the potential to be applied in other areas.
	Projects funded under this scheme are likely to combine a number of different elements which, taken together, could achieve a significant, quantifiable improvement in resilience. The kinds of project that could be funded include:
	Installation of property level protection measures coupled with a wider package of innovative community measures;
	Improving local flood risk mapping and modelling where existing data sets may not accurately capture the local level of risk;
	Inspiring local communities to become more active participants in their flood management by supporting practical measures such as “gully watch” schemes or installation of local monitoring equipment;
	Disseminating information or carrying out local exercises to improve flood awareness and preparedness;
	Building financial resilience such as developing new insurance with rent schemes.
	The application window closed on 16 January 2013 with the submission of over 40 proposals from across the country. They are now being examined by officials. The successful projects will start work shortly.

Food Standards Agency

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department has allocated to the Food Standards Agency in each of the last three financial years.

David Heath: DEFRA does not allocate funding to the Food Standards Agency.

Horses: Death

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many horses died in the last year for which figures are available; and how many issued horse passports were cancelled in that year.

David Heath: As of 2 July 2012, a total of 114,961 horses whose passports had been issued by UK Passport Issuing Organisations had been reported as having died. It is not possible to break this total down by year. Passports for horses that are slaughtered in an abattoir are invalidated on site and returned to the issuing organisation. Passports for horses that die in other circumstances are returned to the issuing organisation for invalidation.

Livestock: Transport

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what records his Department holds on the number of sheep which have died at the port of Ramsgate since September 2012; and what assessment he has made of the fitness for purpose of that port for the export of live animals.

David Heath: Since the 12 September 2012 incident, one sheep was euthanised in October on veterinary advice at the port of Ramsgate.
	Article 22 and 23 of Council Regulation 1/2005 require the Competent Authority to ensure that there are arrangements in place to deal with emergencies, if they occur, at the port of Ramsgate. There is no requirement under the regulation for the port to have animal handling facilities. Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency staff are present at the port for all sailings and will invoke emergency procedures if required.

Livestock: Transport

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his statement of 4 March 2013 on AHVLA report on events of 12 September 2012, when the summary of actions referred to in Annex C will be implemented.

David Heath: All measures highlighted in my statement of 4 March 2013 have been implemented by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency.

Meat

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of (a) beef, (b) lamb, (c) pork and (d) bacon used by each Government Department comes from British sources.

David Heath: DEFRA does not have figures relating to the sourcing of food by each Government Department. However, figures relating to DEFRA's own contract show that between July and December last year 100% of (a) beef, (b) lamb, and (c) uncured pork was UK sourced or produced. Bacon was sourced from the UK and the European Union.

Meat: Sampling

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated cost of sampling 100 grams of processed and frozen meat by the Food Standards Agency is; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The Food Standards Agency advise me that the cost for the sampling of processed and frozen meat by local authorities is approximately £300 for each sample.
	Analytical costs are £250 plus a sample handling fee of £50, which is paid to the local authority taking the sample. The Food Standards Agency has also paid an additional £250 for a quick turnaround of samples which are part of phases one to three.

Phenylbutazone

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether any horse carcasses that tested positive for phenylbutazone were subsequently found to have had a false horse passport in (a) each of the last three years and (b) 2013 to date;
	(2)  what the (a) country of origin and (b) issuing organisation of the passports of those horse carcasses which tested positive for phenylbutazone was in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) 2013 to date.

David Heath: The information set out in the following table shows details of horses that have been tested and contained residues of phenylbutazone from 2010 to date. It is based on results from the statutory residues surveillance programme under Council Directive 96/23/EC implemented by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) supplementary testing in the second half of 2012 and the initial results from the FSA's 100% testing which commenced on 30 January 2013.
	
		
			  Case no. False passport? Country of origin of horse Issuing organisation 
			 2010 1005349 No Great Britain Weatherbys Thoroughbred Ltd 
			  1005352 No Great Britain Welsh Pony and Cob Society 
			  1016168 Passport destroyed by passport issuing organisation(1) Ireland Weatherbys (Ireland) Ltd 
			  1016171 No Great Britain Pleasure Horse Society 
			  1016172 Passport untraceable, details supplied by passport issuing organisation(1) America Weatherbys Group Ltd 
			 2011 1114326 No Great Britain Weatherbys Thoroughbred Ltd 
			 2012 1207301 No Ireland Weatherbys Thoroughbred Ltd 
			  1207312 Unable to trace horse passport Ireland Unknown(2) 
			  1207058 Passport destroyed by passport issuing organisation(1) Unknown(3) Pet-ID Equine 
			  1217081 No Great Britain Weatherbys Group Ltd 
			  1232843 Passport destroyed by passport issuing organisation(1)(,)(2) Ireland Horse Sport Ireland 
			  Unknown(4) No Unknown Welsh Pony and Cob Society 
			  Unknown(4) No Unknown Gypsy Pony Society 
			  Unknown(4) No Unknown Verband Der Zuchter des Oldenburger Perdes E.V. 
			  Unknown(4) No Unknown Weatherbys Group Ltd 
			 2013 S13-001303 Under investigation Great Britain Horse Passport Agency Ltd 
			  S13-001304 Under investigation Great Britain The National Pony Society 
			  S13-001328 No Great Britain The Veteran Horse Society 
			  S13-001362 Under investigation Great Britain Horse Passport Agency Ltd 
			  S13-001364 Under investigation Great Britain The British Horses Society 
			  S13-001396 Under investigation Great Britain Weatherbys Group Ltd 
			  S13-001414 Under investigation Great Britain The Arab Horse Society 
			  S13-001416 Under investigation United Kingdom The Arab Horse Society 
			  S13-001399 Under investigation United Kingdom Dartmoor Pony Society 
			  S13-001443 Under investigation Great Britain Pet-ID Equine 
			  S13-001452 Under investigation Great Britain Gypsy Cob Society Ltd 
			  S13-001464 Under investigation Great Britain Weatherbys Group Ltd 
			  S13-001512 Under investigation Great Britain Weatherbys Group Ltd 
			 (1) Passport issuing organisations are legally permitted to destroy the invalidated passports of horses that have been slaughtered or died. (2) The passport number was known which indicated the origin of the horse. (3) The passport was destroyed and the passport number could not be obtained, which would have indicated the country of origin. (4) No information available.

Water Charges: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average percentage change in domestic water bills has been in each local authority area in the East of England in each of the last three years.

Richard Benyon: The water industry regulator, Ofwat, does not hold data by local authority area but by water company. Prior to privatisation in 1989 customers were billed by regional state-owned water boards and since privatisation the regulator has set price limits for water companies. Every five years Ofwat sets price limits for the water and sewerage companies. This is the amount they are able to charge customers and this process is known as a Price Review. At Price Review, Ofwat sets a five-year price cap to which the rate of inflation is added annually. All companies have a charges scheme, which must be approved by Ofwat on an annual basis.
	Prices reflect the amount of revenue each company must collect from its customers in order to maintain high quality water services and the need to finance day-to-day activities and to invest in the necessary infrastructure. These costs differ from region to region. At a household level, the size of the bill and the extent of change also depend on whether a customer is metered or unmetered.
	The changes in average water bills for the five companies supplying the east of England region for the last three years are set out in the table. These take into account a rate of inflation based on the retail price index (RPI) annual inflation as at the previous November. The figures in brackets represent the changes as agreed under the Price Review, excluding RPI.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 
			 Anglian Water 2.8 (-0.1) 6.9 (1.7) 4.7 (-0.1) 
			 Essex and Suffolk 3 (0) 5.1 (-0.1) 9.4 (4.6) 
			 Cambridge Water 2.8 (-0.2) 6.2 (1) 2.6 (-2.1) 
			 Affinity (East) 1.4 (-1.6) 1.6 (-3.6) 1.6 (-3.1) 
			 Affinity(Central) 0.1 (-2.9) 1.4 (-3.8) 5.3 (0.6)

Offshore Wind Farms: Noise

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are required in UK waters to reduce the impact from noise attributable to wind farm construction on wildlife protected by the EU Habitats Directive.

Richard Benyon: An assessment of predicted noise impacts from the construction of offshore wind farms on receptors, including marine wildlife, is undertaken as part of the environmental impact assessment process. This outcome is documented in an environmental statement that applicants are required to submit to support their application.
	The application is widely consulted upon with advisors, including the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science that have a specialist understanding of the implications of noise on marine receptors.
	Depending on the outcome of the assessment and responses received, noise mitigation measures may be added as licence conditions to ensure that noise is reduced to acceptable limits.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Centre for Global Eco-Innovation

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what work Inventya Ltd carried out on behalf of the Centre for Global Innovation; and what steps his Department took to assess the value of such work to the project.

Brandon Lewis: Inventya provide specialist consultancy to small medium-sized enterprises to support commercialisation of products to market as part of the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation. Lancaster university as project applicant assess the value of the work being undertaken by Inventya as they are a delivery partner to the project.

Troubled Families Project

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  for how many families local authorities have been able to claim the payment by results element of the Troubled Families Programme since April 2012;
	(2)  for how many families local authorities have been able to claim the payment by results element of the Troubled Families Programme since April 2012, by local authority.

Brandon Lewis: As of the end of December 2012, local authorities claimed results for successfully turning around the lives of 1,675 troubled families. In line with the terms of the payment-by-results scheme, which is set out in the Financial Framework for the troubled families programme, local authorities will receive payment for five out of every six families they successfully turn around.
	In March 2013, the Department published progress information on the Troubled Families programme, broken down by local authority. This information is available on the Department's website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/136318/130228_-_PI_for_publication.xls
	The final column 'Number of families turned round' represents the number of results claimed for families by each local authority.
	We will publish this data regularly throughout the Troubled Families Programme.

Fires

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to make the UK economy more resilient to incidents of fire.

Brandon Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to him on 14 March 2013, Official Report, column 287W.

Help to Buy: London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the financial statement of 20 March 2013, Official Report, column 942, how many people in London will benefit from the announced Help to Buy scheme.

Mark Prisk: In London, the Mayor will work with the Homes and Communities Agency to support new build home purchases through Help to Buy: equity loan and new private rented homes through Build to Rent. This will involve a minimum of £750 million of funding up to 2015-16.
	Help to Buy: equity loan is a demand led scheme and the numbers of people who will benefit is dependent on a number of factors including take up and price of properties being purchased.

Indigo Public Affairs

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers, (c) officials and (d) special political advisers of his Department have had with Indigo Public Affairs Ltd; and if he will publish full details of any such meetings.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 19 March 2013
	Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are routinely published on my Department's website.
	www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/dclg-ministerial-data
	Details of officials’ departmental meetings are not held centrally, although I can inform the hon. Member that special advisers are not aware of any such meetings. All representatives of the Department act in accordance with “Guidance on Planning Propriety Issues”, which is published at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-propriety-issues-guidance

Mobile Phones

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which company holds the largest contract to provide mobile telephony services to his Department; how much is paid each year under that contract; how many individual devices are covered by the contract; when the contract was awarded; and when and how the contract will next be reviewed.

Brandon Lewis: The Department's only mobile telephony services contract is with Vodafone. It currently has 862 mobile devices on issue to staff and has spent £213,799 (including. VAT) for the period of 1 January 2012 to 31 January 2013.
	Although DCLG has had contracts with Vodafone for individual devices, the current contract for this service started on 7 October 2011 and is under a Government Framework Agreement (reference RM526 (Mobile Solutions II—Lot 1, Part 3)) and with an end date of 7 October 2015.
	My Department reviews usage of the contracts and compliance to terms on an ongoing basis. In addition, DCLG will liaise with the Government Procurement Service approximately one year before the current agreement expires to establish opportunities for the Department to benefit from collaborative central Government arrangements and otherwise will tender our ongoing requirements.
	In a lean business environment the Department recognises the advantages in remote working that mobile devices bring. To drive down overall costs the Department has signed up to a centrally negotiated telephony agreement. The Department has used the collective bargaining power of the DCLG group to qualify for savings with suppliers.

Help to Buy: Impact Assessment

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment of the effects of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme on house prices.

Mark Prisk: The scheme will help up to 74,000 home buyers over the three years to March 2016. By way of context, the Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that in the same period there will be over 3.4 million property transactions. Homes purchased under the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme would therefore only account for 2% of overall property transactions, and hence it is unlikely they would have any material effect on house prices.

Recruitment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials were recruited to (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: My Department has recruited the following numbers of staff in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Permanent 169 202 48 26 99 
			 Fixed-term 37 67 10 4 26 
		
	
	The civil service entered a recruitment freeze in May 2010 and overall civil service numbers are 15% down from the last general election. Many of the above staff recruited since May 2010 were to fill business critical vacancies, vacancies requiring technical skills, cross-Whitehall talent management programmes, or recruitment commitments made prior to new controls announced in May 2010.
	Excluding Fast Stream staff, the majority of the staff joining the Department since May 2010 were existing civil servants on transfer from another Department to fill a vacancy left through natural turnover, rather than new civil service appointments.
	Information for numbers of staff recruited by the Department's agencies and non-executive public bodies is not held centrally.
	The Department's major programme of restructuring has reduced headcount by 37% on a like-for-like basis with the October 2010 baseline position.
	Based on current estimates (which reflect accounting consequences from machinery of government changes), the DCLG Group is reducing its annual running costs by 41% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. This equates to net savings of at least £532 million over this spending review period and includes savings of around £420 million from the closure of the Government offices for the regions.

Social Rented Housing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will conduct a survey (a) nationally, (b) by region and (c) by local authority area of the number of registered social landlords who intend to let affordable rented homes in new schemes only to working households; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: There are no plans to conduct any surveys of the number of registered providers intending to let homes at an affordable rent only to working households.
	Allocations and nominations processes for affordable rent homes are expected to mirror the existing frameworks for social rented housing. Providers will be under the same statutory and regulatory obligations when allocating affordable rent homes as they are when allocating properties for social rent.
	There is scope for local flexibility. Provided that a local authority's overall scheme is framed around the statutory reasonable preference categories, local authorities can opt to reserve certain properties for allocation to other client groups. They may decide to exercise this discretion in relation to affordable rent, e.g. to target it at households in work but on low incomes. Similarly, providers will have discretion to allocate properties to households who are in work where those properties do not form part of nominations agreements with local authorities.

Telephone Services

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) 0800, (b) 0808, (c) 0844, (d) 0845 and (e) 0870 telephone numbers for the public are in use by (i) his Department and (ii) the agencies for which he is responsible.

Brandon Lewis: Neither the Department nor the Planning Inspectorate use any of these numbers for members of the public.
	The Homes and Communities Agency uses a low-cost 030 number. It inherited a 0845 number that was previously the general contact number for the (now defunct) Tenants Services Authority; this was retained for legacy reasons to re-divert to the Homes and Communities Agency rather than disconnect. However, the number that the Homes and Communities Agency advertises to the public is the 030 number.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Mobile Infrastructure Project

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 683W, on mobile telephones, when in the spring she expects to appoint a supplier for the Mobile Infrastructure Project.

Edward Vaizey: The Department is in the final stage of the Mobile Infrastructure Project and expect to award the MIP provider contract in early May.

Digital Switchover

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with her counterpart at the Department of Energy and Climate Change about the lessons of Digital Switchover in engaging consumers for the forthcoming roll-out of smart meters.

Edward Vaizey: Ministers within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meet colleagues at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to discuss a range of matters.

Internet

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2013, Official Report, column 60W, on internet, if she will consider conducting an assessment of the provision of free community internet access points for use by those who do not have internet access at home in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no plans to make an assessment of the provision of free community internet access points across the UK. The Government's broadband policies and programmes are focused on ensuring that as many people as possible have access to broadband where they live. Our broadband programme is aiming to ensure that 90% of the population has access to superfast broadband, with the remainder of the population having access to at least 2 Mbps service. In addition, the recent auction of spectrum will lead to the competitive provision of 4G mobile broadband services from the summer, with one of the operators having an obligation in its licence to reach at least 98% of the population. Other broadband technologies are also available now, including fixed wireless and satellite which is capable of serving almost 100% of UK premises. Furthermore, the Universal Offers initiative launched in January this year by the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) commented that most public libraries provide digital access for the community and have done so for some time.

Public Expenditure

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Financial Statement of 20 March 2013, Official Report, column 935, how her Department intends to cut one per cent from its budget.

Hugh Robertson: Almost all Department for Culture, Media and Sport funding is passed directly to our arm's length bodies. We will be discussing with our bodies what this means in practice. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has always been clear, however, that she expects the frontline services, which the public value, to be protected as far as possible, and for savings to be made through efficiencies and from ending lower value activity.

Public Libraries

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much income was obtained from libraries in England from (a) library fines, (b) loans of books, audio and other materials and (c) room hire in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Edward Vaizey: The detail requested is not held centrally by this Department, as it is a matter for individual authorities. However the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (OPFA) collect financial information data annually from the library authorities and details of overdue charges, lettings, and hire of audio and visual materials is available from CIPFA for the years requested. Copies of CIPFA statistics are available in the House Library.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Trade: Human Rights

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to prohibit states with questionable human rights records from attending the September 2013 London DSEi arms fair.

Alistair Burt: The British Government undertakes a thorough case-by-case assessment before issuing any formal invitations to foreign governments wishing to attend events such as DSEi. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are mandatory considerations in this process. We will review the invitations we have given if the situation in any one country changes significantly prior to an exhibition. Any subsequent defence sales are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 904W, on Chagos Islands, whether his taking stock process will include material evidence from the 2002 Flexibility Study into the practicalities of voluntary repatriation of Chagossians.

Mark Simmonds: Evidence from the 2002 Feasibility Study will be considered as part of the review of our policy towards the British Indian Ocean Territory.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Islington North, of 6 March 2013, Official Report, column 1018W, on Chagos Islands, if he will complete the taking stock of his policy towards resettlement before the end of 2013.

Mark Simmonds: Ministers want to consider British Indian Ocean Territory policy options carefully, given the complexity of the issues. Our review of policy will be thorough. We do not have a timetable for the conclusion of the review and will inform Parliament as soon as we are in a position to do so.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2013, Official Report, column 168W, on British Indian Ocean Territory, if, as part of his agreement with interested stakeholders, he will consult those exiled Chagossians who are interested in the opportunity of voluntary repatriation in respect of the (a) costs to them, (b) benefits to the UK in having a presence on the islands and (c) any other consequences of pursuing such a policy.

Mark Simmonds: Ministers and officials continue to engage with Chagossians as part of our review of policy. This will include the costs, benefits and other consequences of any kind of resettlement.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of Professor Paul Kench's 5 October 2012 review of his Department's 2002 feasibility study into the practical consequences of a policy of voluntary repatriation of Chagossians to the Chagos Islands.

Mark Simmonds: As part of our review of our policy on the British Indian Ocean Territory, we will consider all relevant contributions, submissions and views, as appropriate.

Central America

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to co-ordinate the work of his Department with that of the Department for International Development in central America; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The Department for International Development (DFID) no longer has a bilateral aid programme in central America. This is in line with the Government's decision to focus their aid activity on a small number of the poorest and most fragile states where the UK is well-placed to make a significant impact. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are nonetheless in contact with DFID about work in central America on a case by case basis.

China

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any Government (a) Minister and (b) official has been denied a visa by the Chinese authorities in the last 12 months.

William Hague: I can confirm that no Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister or official has been denied a visa by the Chinese authorities in the last 12 months. The FCO has not been informed of a Minister or official from any other Government Department having been denied a visa by the Chinese authorities in the last 12 months.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on progress being made in the Colombian peace talks.

Hugo Swire: We strongly welcome President Santos's decision to enter into peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It brings the hope of sustainable peace for all Colombians after decades of conflict.
	The latest round of talks started on Friday 15 March in Cuba. The two negotiating teams are working to a five point agenda, the first of which is rural development. The agenda recognises that the historic injustices suffered by vulnerable groups need to be addressed to bring about sustainable peace.
	On 1 March, Government negotiators in Havana gave an update on the status of the talks and announced that important progress had been made on the first agenda point. The FARC's chief negotiator has recognised that the process has advanced further than any previous peace process in Colombia.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Colombia; and what reports he has received on progress made over recent years in tackling impunity from the law in that country.

Hugo Swire: We welcome the Colombian Government's genuine effort to improve respect for human rights in Colombia, including through its land restitution and victims reparations processes. Progress has been made on prosecutions for extra-judicial killings, and in 2012 there were no reported cases of “false positives” in Colombia. Illegal armed groups commit most of the human rights violations in Colombia and we encourage the Colombian Government to do more to provide justice for the victims of violations.
	The Colombian justice system is currently suffering from a backlog and a lack of resources. President Santos has committed to addressing these problems by implementing a package of reforms to de-politicise the judiciary, improve its administration, give it greater resources, and de-congest its caseload. Additionally, Colombia's Attorney-General has committed to providing extra prosecutors for the National Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit. Last year our embassy in Colombia helped the Attorney-General's office to improve the efficiency of its case management.

Cyprus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the UK's sovereign base areas in Cyprus have a territorial water and a claim to a continental shelf; and if he will make a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, in accordance with article 76, paragraph 8, of the United Nations convention on the law of the sea on this matter.

David Lidington: The adjacent territorial sea boundaries between the two sovereign base areas and the Republic of Cyprus are defined in annex A of the treaty concerning the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, 19 August 1960. Presently, both sovereign base areas claim a territorial sea out to three nautical miles but we have reserved our rights to claim up to 12 nautical miles on their behalf, as provided for under the UN convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS).

Diplomatic Service

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which countries and embassies the UK has (a) decreased the number of diplomats and (b) closed diplomatic posts since May 2010.

David Lidington: I refer to the statement on Britain's future diplomatic network made by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), to the House on 11 May 2011, Official Report, columns 1165-68. In line with that statement, we have reduced our diplomatic footprint in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in some European subordinate posts outside capital cities.
	We have not closed any sovereign posts. The following diplomatic posts have closed since May 2010:
	
		
			 Date Country Post 
			 September 2011 France Lille Consulate General 
			 June 2012 France Lyon Consulate General closed (re-opened as a trade office) 
			 December 2011 Italy Florence Consulate 
			 September 2011 Italy Venice Consulate General 
			 October 2010 Switzerland Geneva Consulate General 
			 December 2012 Iraq Basra Consulate General (British Embassy Office remains) 
		
	
	Operations in Iran and Syria have been suspended for security reasons.

Kashmir

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to help resolve the conflict in Kashmir; and whether Kashmir was discussed during the recent visit to India led by the Prime Minister.

Hugo Swire: The long-standing position of the UK is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, one which takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Kashmir

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Governments of India and Pakistan regarding the situation in Kashmir.

Hugo Swire: Our officials in Islamabad and Delhi regularly discuss the situation in Kashmir with both governments. We welcome the renewed engagement between India and Pakistan and a solution to the Kashmir dispute is something that both sides will need to develop.
	The long-standing position of the UK is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, one which takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to mediate in finding one.

Maldives

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the concerns raised by the UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers about the trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed in the Maldives.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the statement from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, following her visit to Maldives. This statement urged the Maldivian Government to address a number of challenges hampering the functioning of the justice system in Maldives. These included concerns on the appointment of judges, training and education for individuals in the justice system, and transparency. We share many of the concerns expressed, and urge all parties to work together in order to implement these, and other reforms identified by the Commission of National Inquiry in order to strengthen democratic institutions in Maldives. We look forward with interest to the exploration of these issues in a detailed written report which will be presented to the Human Rights Council session in May.
	The Government have consistently urged all parties to work together to implement reforms highlighted by the Commission of National Inquiry, including those designed to strengthen the judiciary. In my statement of 6 March, I urged all parties to work together to find a solution which would allow for genuinely free, fair, and inclusive elections, and outlined our view that all parties should be able to contest elections with a candidate of their choice. This includes former President Nasheed, should he be selected as a candidate by his party.

Maldives

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of the Maldives on the arrest and forthcoming trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Alistair Burt: The Government is monitoring events closely following the recent arrest and detention of former President Nasheed in Maldives. The former President was released after his hearing, and his trial has been postponed until 4 April. We look to the Maldivian authorities to ensure that due process is followed, and that proceedings are fair and transparent. We urge all parties to remain calm and to act responsibly. Our high commissioner and officials remain in regular contact with Maldives Government.
	I made a statement on 6 March following former President Nasheed's hearing, which outlined our view that all parties should be able to contest elections with the candidate of their choice. This includes former President Nasheed, should he be selected as a candidate by his party. During my visit to Maldives last month, I outlined the same points in my meetings with the President, Foreign Minister, and other political leaders. We believe that if the chosen candidates of all parties are not permitted to participate in the Presidential election in September, the credibility of the outcome will be irreparably damaged. We hope all involved will to work together to find a solution which would allow for genuinely free, fair, and inclusive elections, and ensure all are able to campaign without hindrance.

Middle East

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the Government plans to reinvigorate the Deauville partnership to ensure that economic support is available to countries in transition.

Alistair Burt: The Deauville partnership plays an important role in supporting the transitions under way in the Middle East and North Africa. Under the UK presidency we are working with Deauville partners to help catalyse inclusive economic growth, and enable greater economic opportunities for youth and women in transition countries. We are doing this by providing practical support focused on delivery and impact on the ground. We are increasing the role of the private sector in all of our activities under the Deauville partnership, as a key to delivering sustainable growth. Work on eight priority areas this year which will aim to bolster strong economic growth in the transition countries:
	1. Promoting investment opportunities in transition countries, through convening a major international investment conference to showcase opportunities, encourage policy reforms to the investment climate and bring together interested businesses.
	2. Trade: We will encourage further movement on opening markets as well as exploring practical steps to address other barriers to trade.
	3. Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): We are working with the International Financial Institutions to help develop SMEs in the region and are running an SME mentoring scheme to support entrepreneurship.
	4. Supporting women's economic participation: We will integrate a focus on the role of women throughout all of our work and host a conference to recognise and boost the role of women in Arab economies.
	5. Support expansion of European Bank of Reconstruction and Development's mandate: This will make up to €2.5 billion per year available in private sector finance available in transition countries.
	6. Ensuring recovery of stolen assets: We will make sure there is an effective international response to stolen assets, by encouraging work which disseminates knowledge, facilitates and coordinates international cooperation and builds capacity in transition countries.
	7. Greater access to private capital: We will continue to support greater state and private sector access to private capital to finance critical investments.
	8. Providing practical assistance through a Transition Fund set up during last year's US presidency. Through this we will ensure delivery of technical assistance in implementing economic reform in transition countries.

Morocco

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  if he will raise with the Moroccan authorities the concerns raised by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture for Morocco that public officials who order, condone or cover up torture should be prosecuted;
	(2)  if he will raise with the Moroccan authorities the concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on the systematic pattern of acts of torture and ill-treatment during the detention and arrest process of Saharawi accused of threats against national security;
	(3)  if he will raise with the Moroccan authorities the concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture that Saharawi accused of threats against national security are often not officially registered, that they are held for weeks without being brought before a judge and without judicial oversight, and that families are not notified until such time as the suspects are transferred to police custody in order to sign confessions;
	(4)  if he will raise with the Moroccan authorities the concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture that testimonies of Saharawi accused of threats against national security, indicate that many cases that are submitted to the courts are based solely on confessions by the accused, allegedly obtained under torture and later recanted, in the absence of any material evidence.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the report of Mr Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and Morocco's openness in allowing him to visit, which indicates a genuine political will to address a continued improvement in human rights. We will encourage and support Morocco in the implementation of the recommendations and continue to raise our concerns with the Moroccan authorities on human rights issues through our existing frank and open dialogue.

Palestinians

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent representations the British (a) ambassador to Israel and (b) Consul General in Jerusalem have made to the Palestinian Authority about incitement;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority on fulfilling its Road Map commitment to end incitement against Israel.

Alistair Burt: Our officials raise instances of incitement with both the Palestinian Authority and Israel whenever we feel this appropriate. There is a profound need for both the Israeli and Palestinian sides to do more to promote a positive portrayal of each other, reflecting the principles of co-existence, tolerance, justice and human dignity. However, the British Government believe that the track record of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad shows they are genuinely committed to a non-violent pursuit of a two state solution.

Palestinians

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the (a) treatment and (b) position of Christians in the Palestinian territories.

Alistair Burt: The Government place a high priority on the right to freedom of religion for all.
	The UK is not aware of specific legal restrictions placed upon Christians in Gaza or the west bank to practise their religion. However, we remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement. Palestinian Christian communities are primarily concentrated in Bethlehem, Ramallah and East Jerusalem. Travel by Palestinians between these places remains very difficult due to Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement. Palestinian Christians may also, like Palestinians of other faiths, face other restrictions as a result of the policies of the respective authorities exercising control over the occupied Palestinian Territories.
	The Government regularly discuss these issues with religious leaders of all faiths, and with the relevant authorities, including raising specific cases as appropriate and discussing ways of protecting holy sites across the occupied Palestinian Territories.

Palestinians

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority on the naming of cultural and sporting events after terrorists.

Alistair Burt: As the Prime Minister made clear in his speech to the United Jewish Israel Appeal on 15 October 2012, the UK will not tolerate incitement to terrorism and cannot support those who name sporting events after suicide bombers.
	We have a regular dialogue with the Palestinian Authority in which we reiterate the need for both sides to prepare their populations for peaceful coexistence and to avoid anything which further stirs up hatred and prejudice. We most recently raised the issue of incitement with Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad's office in January 2013.

Syria

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 472W, on Syria, what assessment he has made of the vulnerability of Syrian chemical weapons stocks to being captured and exploited by elements of the Syrian opposition.

Alistair Burt: The Syrian regime is legally obliged under UN Security Council Resolution 1540 to keep its chemical weapons secure. We have pressed upon them the need to meet this responsibility in full.
	The vulnerability to capture of Syrian chemical weapons stocks is very difficult to assess. Ultimately, if the regime falls, the security of the stocks will depend on those guarding them.
	Some expertise, as well as access to appropriate delivery systems, is needed to handle and exploit chemical weapons. The opposition's ability to use these weapons is likely to depend on the number of people with the necessary expertise who defect.
	The Syrian National Coalition has however made clear in a statement on 20 March its condemnation of the use of chemical weapons, saying that “chemical warfare is internationally prohibited. Its use against any enemy is banned.”
	We welcome the UN Secretary-General's decision to investigate possible use of chemical weapons in Syria. Any use of chemical weapons would be morally abhorrent and universally condemned and demand a serious response from the international community.

HEALTH

Blood: Donors

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Blood Service checks levels of lead in those who wish to donate blood.

Anna Soubry: NHS Blood and Transplant, which provides blood for transfusion to hospitals in England and North Wales, does not check levels of lead in either potential blood donors or donated blood.
	Significant lead poisoning usually results in anaemia, as lead affects a person's ability to form haemoglobin (iron). All potential blood donors have their iron levels tested prior to donation and must have a minimum iron level before they can donate. Donors who have been exposed to high levels of lead will therefore not be able to donate because their low iron levels would prevent them from meeting the donation criteria.

Cancer

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of those eligible did not receive a cancer care review within six months of receiving confirmation of their diagnosis since the programme's inception.

Anna Soubry: Cancer reviews are carried out under the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), which is a voluntary part of the general practitioners (GPs) contract. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is responsible for keeping QOF indicators under review and making recommendations for changes.
	There has been a cancer review indicator in QOF since its inception in 2004. The following table, provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, sets out achievement levels.
	Please note that in 2004-05 and 2005-06 a slightly, differently worded indicator (‘Cancer 2’) with a larger diagnosis window was in force, though both ‘Cancer 2’ and its successor ‘Cancer 3’ refer to the review occurring within six months of confirmed diagnosis. Exceptions data were not reported in 2004-05, hence the missing figures in the table.
	
		
			  Numerator Exceptions Denominator Underlying achievement, net of exceptions (numerator/denominator)(2) % of patients for which indicator was not achieved (100% underlying achievement) % of patients receiving the intervention (numerator/exceptions + denominator)(3) % of patients for which indicator was not achieved (including exceptions) (100% of patients receiving the intervention) 
			 2011-12 144,360 2,364 154,708 93.3 6.7 91.9 8.1 
			 2010-11 136,136 2,296 145,336 93.7 6.3 92.2 7.8 
			 2009-10 128,374 2,151 137,863 93.1 6.9 91.7 8.3 
			 2008-09 127,432 1,963 136,164 93.6 6.4 92.3 7.7 
			         
			 2007-08 122,603 4,883 130,845 93.7 6.3 90.3 9.7 
			 2006-07 132,720 5,336 140,548 94.4 5.6 91.0 9.0 
			 2005-06(1) 319,316 33,693 353,112 90.4 9.6 82.6 17.4 
			 2004-05(1) 208,212 n/a 246,348 84.5 15.5 n/a n/a 
			 (1 )Cancer 2 indicator applied in 2004-05 and 2005-06. (2) Underlying Achievement is the measure by which practices are awarded QOF points score, based on this figure measured against the defined achievement thresholds. (3) This measure was introduced in 2011-12 to provide greater context to Underlying Achievement figures. It includes exceptions in the calculation, and thus covers all patients to whom the indicator applies, regardless of exception status. This measure is not part of the QOF payment process.

Cancer: Drugs

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the benefits patients have derived from receiving drugs through the Cancer Drugs Fund; and how many additional patient years of life, taking account of the published QUALY benefits, have resulted from each of the drugs provided through the fund.

Norman Lamb: The Cancer Drugs Fund was launched on 1 April 2011 to help thousands of cancer patients access the drugs their clinicians believe will help them. We also made an additional £50 million available to strategic health authorities in 2010-11. This funding has so far helped over 28,000 patients in England to access the additional cancer drugs their clinicians recommend.
	A clinical audit of the drugs provided through the Cancer Drugs Fund is being carried out by the Chemotherapy Intelligence Unit at the Oxford Registry and we expect them to report preliminary data later this year. The audit will provide an opportunity to assess the benefits of the fund for patient outcomes and build the evidence base for the future.

Cancer: Drugs

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the continuation of the Cancer Drugs Fund beyond the end of 2014; and what assessment he has made of the value-based pricing process.

Norman Lamb: We are considering ways in which cancer patients can continue to benefit from drugs currently provided through the Cancer Drugs Fund, at a cost that represents value to the national health service.
	The consultation document, “A new value-based approach to the pricing of branded medicines” set out our proposals for value-based pricing. The consultation ran from 16 December 2010 to 17 March 2011 and the Government's response to the consultation was published on 18 July 2011, “A new value-based approach to the pricing of branded medicines: Government response to consultation”.
	The impact assessment accompanying the consultation document set out an evaluation of the effects of our proposals including an assessment of the possible impact on NHS patients, including cancer patients. Copies of the consultation document, the Government's response and the impact assessment have already been placed in the Library.
	The impact assessment will be updated in due course as the new pricing arrangements for branded medicines, including value-based pricing, are finalised.

Cancer: Drugs

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people in each hospital trust who have received treatment attributable to the Cancer Drugs Fund since its inception.

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have received drugs funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund to date; and how many patients with breast cancer have received treatment with drugs funded through the fund.

Norman Lamb: A number of the drugs funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund are used in the treatment of breast cancer. However, the Department does not collect information on the specific indications for which drugs have been funded and some of these drugs may be used in the treatment of other cancers. Neither is information collected by the Department about the use of treatments funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund at hospital trust level.
	Information on the number of patients who have had cancer drugs funded by strategic health authorities (SHAs) under the interim cancer drugs funding arrangements in 2010-11 (from October 2010 to the end of March 2011) and under the Cancer Drugs Fund (from April 2011 to the end of January 2013) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Strategic health authority Number of patients funded 2010-11 Number of patients funded in 2011-12 Number of patients funded from April 2012 to end January 2013 Total number of patients funded since October 2010(1) 
			 North East 420 696 419 1,535 
			 North West 266 1,044 1,527 2,837 
		
	
	
		
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 178 809 1,169 2,156 
			 East Midlands 178 871 797 1,846 
			 West Midlands 292 1,658 1,278 3,228 
			 East of England 246 1,486 1,413 3,145 
			 London 443 1,364 1,529 3,336 
			 South East Coast 306 1,241 1,172 2,719 
			 South Central 290 1,170 2,109 3,569 
			 South West 161 1,459 1,976 3,596 
			 Total 2,780 11,798 13,389 27,967 
			 (1) Some individual patients may be double-counted where a patient has received more than one drug treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund. Source: Information provided to the Department by SHAs

Chemotherapy

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has made in developing a quality standard for chemotherapy.

Norman Lamb: The topic ‘cancer chemotherapy' is in the core library of quality standards referred to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). We understand from NICE that this topic has not yet been scheduled into its work programme.

Chemotherapy

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the quality and safety of chemotherapy services in the NHS; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans the NHS Commissioning Board has to introduce measures to assess and improve the quality and safety of chemotherapy services in the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Anna Soubry: The National Cancer. Peer Review (NCPR) programme assesses local services against the performance measures contained in the Manual for Cancer Services. These measures reflect the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 'Improving Outcomes in Cancer Guidance' documents and other national and best practice guidance on the diagnosis, treatment, care and support of cancer patients. The role of the NCPR programme is to support quality assurance and continuous service improvement. All chemotherapy and acute oncology services were subject to assessment as part of the NCPR programme in 2011-12, following the introduction of new measures for these services.
	The outcome of that review was published in the report 'National Cancer Peer Review Programme Report 2011-12: An overview of the findings from the 2011-12 National Cancer Peer Review of Cancer Services in England'. It showed that while compliance against the chemotherapy service measures was over 80% in all areas, there was still work to be done to ensure compliance with Acute Oncology Service measures. The peer review programme continues to work closely with the Care Quality Commission, sharing information about poor performing teams and Trusts and providing regular updates on any immediate risks identified. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
	The Manual for Cancer Services informed the development of the chemotherapy service specification that will be used by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) to commission chemotherapy services from April 2013. Compliance against the measures has also been included as one of the performance indicators in the specification. The NHS CB has advised that the Clinical Reference Group for Chemotherapy services intends to continue working with providers to ensure that outcomes from the peer review process are addressed and that the new data now flowing from the National Chemotherapy Dataset Collection continues to drive improvements in quality and safety of chemotherapy services.

Furness Hospital

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  on how many occasions the oncology unit at Furness General hospital was operating at full capacity in terms of beds in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the average occupancy rate of beds was in the oncology unit at Furness General hospital in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: This information is not collected centrally. This information may be obtained from the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust directly.

Furness Hospital

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with (a) University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, (b) Monitor and (c) the Care Quality Commission on the future of the oncology unit at Furness General Hospital in the last 12 months.

Anna Soubry: No such discussions have taken place.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2013, Official Report, column 356W, on genito-urinary medicine, for what reasons the results of the 2010 evidence review on the effectiveness of sexual health interventions have not been published.

Anna Soubry: The evidence review was completed in September 2010 and it was the Department's original intention to publish it alongside the Sexual Health Framework. The framework was published on 15 March 2013. To be of maximum benefit we now want to update the evidence review and will work with Public Health England to undertake this.

Health Services: Sign Language

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to help deaf British Sign Language users communicate with and understand health professionals.

Norman Lamb: Addressing the communication needs of people with hearing loss, including those who are British Sign Language users, to communicate with and understand health professionals is important. This is for many reasons including ensuring that they can take a genuine part in shared decision making and safeguarding against safety issues arising such as non-compliance with medicine regimes.
	When making decisions about what services are delivered locally, all national health service organisations must assure themselves that they have complied with the Equality Act 2010. This includes advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic, including a disability such as hearing loss, and those who do not.

HIV Infection

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the financial effects of using antiretroviral therapy as a preventative measure against the spread of HIV in high risk groups; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure people with HIV start their treatment early to reduce the risk of onwards transmission;
	(3)  if the forthcoming sexual health strategy will encourage the early uptake of antiretroviral therapy by people with HIV to reduce the risk of onwards transmission.

Anna Soubry: The Department's Expert Advisory Group on AIDS (EAGA) has produced, jointly with the British HIV Association (BHIVA), a position statement for clinicians and other health professionals interpreting the latest evidence on HIV treatment as prevention. The statement will also help patients with diagnosed HIV to make an informed decision about starting treatment based on their individual circumstances. The statement is available on the Department's website by searching EAGA news and publications.
	Decisions on when to start prescribing HIV treatment are informed by clinical guidelines produced by BHIVA. These address when to prescribe treatment to prevent HIV transmission. On 15 March, the DH published A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England which highlights BHIVA's recommendation about offering patients with diagnosed HIV treatment at an early stage to prevent onward transmission of HIV. The framework also highlights the evidence on the reduction in treatment costs of early testing and diagnosis. A copy of the framework has been placed in the Library.
	In November 2012 the Medical Research Council clinical trials unit, with the Health Protection Agency and others, started a three-year pilot study on prescribing HIV treatment for prevention purposes to HIV negative gay men.

Hospitals: Closures

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to NHS trusts on the management of situations where buildings or equipment which have been funded by community charitable donations are proposed for closure.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not issued specific guidance on the issues raised. Only general guidance is given in departmental publications ‘Health Building Note 00-08: Estatecode’ and ‘NHS funds held on trust: guidance on acceptance, management and transfer of charitable funds for NHS bodies’. A copy of these documents have been placed in the Library.

Human Papillomavirus

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the risk of aluminium in the (a) cervarix and (b) gardisil form of the human papillomavirus vaccine crossing the blood brain barrier; and if he will publish the research and data held by his Department on such risks;
	(2)  if he will seek to determine the possibility of synergistic toxicity of aluminium in human papillomavirus vaccines and the mercury present in other concomitantly administered vaccines;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the amount of aluminium that will enter a girl's body if she receives all the approved courses of vaccination including the human papillomavirus vaccine.

Norman Lamb: Aluminium adjuvants have been safely used to enhance the effectiveness of many vaccines for over 60 years. During product development, the adjuvants of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines Cervarix and Gardasil, including the aluminium component, were extensively tested and met all the specifications required by the licensing procedure.
	The European Medicines Agency has published a summary of the data considered during the licensing process for each of these and other vaccines.
	The amount of aluminium varies between vaccines and is determined by several factors including the nature of the vaccine antigens and the specific manufacturing process which is different for every vaccine. The maximum total aluminium content that a child may receive through episodic vaccination as part of the current United Kingdom routine childhood immunisation programme is 3.44 milligrams. The amount of aluminium in vaccines is very small compared with aluminium exposure from the environment(1) including foods, and there is no evidence to suggest that aluminium in vaccines poses any serious health risks. This is supported by a recent review published by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)(2). The World Health Organization's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS)(3) has also concluded that the FDA review further supports the clinical trial and epidemiological evidence of the safety of aluminium in vaccines.
	None of the vaccines used in the current UK routine childhood immunisation programme contains a mercury compound.
	As with all vaccines and medicines, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency continues to closely monitor the safety of HPV vaccines using all available sources of data. The benefits of HPV vaccination in protecting against cervical cancer far outweigh any known side effects.
	(1) European Food Safety Authority
	http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/afc080715.htm
	(2) R. J. Mitkus et al/Vaccine 29 (2011) 9538- 9543
	(3) http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/committee/topics/adjuvants/Jun_2012/en/index.html

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations he has received on the effectiveness of the Government's strategy for the diagnosing of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis;
	(2)  what plans the Government have to develop additional advice to accompany the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease action plan to reduce misdiagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Anna Soubry: Since 1 September 2012, the Department has received one item of correspondence, no parliamentary questions and held no ministerial meetings on the diagnosing of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The Government do not have a strategy for the diagnosing of IPF as this is a clinical matter.
	From 1 April, Government discretion on clinical issues will be limited to referring subjects to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and to setting ambitions for national health service performance through the Mandate provided to the NHS Commissioning Board. The Government have already referred the diagnosis and treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) to NICE as a priority subject for a clinical guideline and this guideline is due to be published in June 2013.

Knee Replacements

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what criteria the NHS Commissioning Board will use to determine for which patients microprocessor knees are appropriate;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made on recommendations from the Innovation, Health and Wealth report, including on the National Specialised Services Innovation Fund; what the criteria for participation in this fund are; and whether microprocessor knees will be considered as part of this programme.

Norman Lamb: Microprocessor knees are not currently routinely funded by the national health service for civilian patients. A number of microprocessor knees have been funded but only following approval by Exceptional Treatment Panels.
	The Clinical Reference Groups (CRG) of the NHS Commissioning Board are planning to develop a clinical commissioning policy which, will include access criteria for micro-processor knees as a priority in 2013-14 for consideration. The CRG will work closely with the Military Health policy team at the Department of Health to build on the expertise and knowledge gained as a result of their use in veterans to inform the development of a policy.
	The NHS chief executive, Sir David Nicholson, published ‘Creating Change—IHW One Year On’ in December 2012. The document provides a full update on the progress made with the Innovation, Health and Wealth programme. A copy has been placed in the Library and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/12/ihw-creating-change/
	The Specialised Services Commissioning Innovation Fund (SSCIF) has been established to rapidly test, trial and evaluate innovations with the potential to deliver high impact change for specialised services throughout the NHS. The SSCIF will launch in the first financial quarter of 2013 and will be announced with widespread notifications issued to all stakeholders (individuals and organisations can be added to this list upon request) along with a news story on the NHS CB website.
	The SSCIF will be open to applications from health staff, commissioners, manufacturers, clinicians, researchers, independent providers and the third sector. The full entry criteria for consideration of a submission to the SSCIF will be published when the fund is launched, but in essence the types of innovation that would be suitable for consideration by the SSCIF are those:
	that are new to NHS specialised services or applied in a way that is new to NHS specialised services;
	have shown promise of delivering an improvement in quality and outcomes for patients or the cost of service delivery; and
	where it is already possible for the innovation to be used within the NHS and the innovation must not still be in the early development phase.
	The scope of innovations that will be considered by the SSCIF is broad, including: service models, pathways, team approaches, diagnostics, devices, technologies and medicines.
	It would not be appropriate to comment on whether individual innovations are suitable for the fund as this will be determined via the assessment of applications. However, an online self-assessment checklist will be available when the fund launches to help potential applicants determine if their innovation is suitable to be considered.

Learning Disability

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that there is local support for adults with moderate to mild learning difficulties;
	(2)  how much has been allocated to help individuals with moderate to mild learning difficulties in the last five years;
	(3)  how much has been allocated to help individuals with moderate to mild learning difficulties in the London borough of Havering in the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Many people with mild learning disabilities are able to live independent lives and contribute fully to their communities without requiring care and support from Government. However, those that do have care and support needs are supported by their local authorities through the adult social care system if they meet eligibility criteria.
	Local services such as adult social care are not run from Whitehall, and it is for local authorities to choose how best to use their available funding. Central Government do not dictate to councils how much they should spend on adult social care, or how this should be divided between people with different care needs. Local authorities are best placed to make these prioritisation decisions based on local pressures and priorities, and councils have made it clear that this allows them to deliver better outcomes and more efficient services.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government collects data on expenditure by service from all local authorities. These data are publicly available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/series/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing
	The Department of Health has also published the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework, which supports councils by providing a clear focus for local priority setting and improvement. This includes enhancing the quality of life for people with care and support needs, such as those adults with learning disability who require care and support, and includes measures on adults with a learning disability in paid employment and adults with a learning disability who live in their own home or with their family.

Mental Health: Young People

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ask the Office for National Statistics to update its report from 2004, “Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain”, based on the 2011 Census.

Norman Lamb: We have no such plans currently in place. However, the Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Forum recommended in its report published last year that a survey be developed to support measurement of outcomes for children and young people with mental health problems. In “Improving Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes: a system wide response”, published in February 2013, we said that the Department would be working with partners to develop a programme of work to explore detailed options and development costs to implement new or extend existing data sources and measures. This programme of work will consider surveys to look at mental health in children and young people, among other options.

Multiple Sclerosis

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research his Department has conducted into the causes of multiple sclerosis.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network is hosting a study of the genetic analysis of multiple sclerosis (MS) led by the University of Cambridge. The research is seeking to identify genetic factors that influence susceptibility to MS. Research in this field has also been supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

NHS: Finance

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual NHS spend is on (a) medical staff, (b) nursing staff, (c) other staff, (d) supplies, (e) overheads, (f) building and estate costs and (g) other running and maintenance costs of operating theatres.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is not available. Such information as is available is provided in the following table. The figures are for 2011-12, the latest period for which data are available.
	
		
			 £000 
			  Medical staff Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff(1) Other staff Supplies and services Overheads Building and estate costs 
			 NHS Trusts 4,648,136 6,972,582 8,088,131 5,111,270 941,057 598,563 
			 Primary Care Trusts 151,453 369,285 1,807,577 355,486 407,261 279,075 
			 Strategic Health Authorities 17,541 639 239,231 6,656 20,151 8,044 
			 Total 4,817,130 7,342,506 10,134,939 5,473,412 1,368,469 885,682 
			 (1) It is not possible to separately identify "nursing staff" from "nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff". Notes: 1. The Department does not collect data from NHS foundation trusts. Where an NHS trust obtains foundation trust status part way through any year, the data provided is only for the part of the year the organisation operated as an NHS trust. 2. Information on running and maintenance costs of operating theatres is not collected centrally.

NHS: Redundancy

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on NHS staff redundancies in 2012-13.

Norman Lamb: Audited and complete data for 2012-13 redundancies is not yet available. It will be available in the summer, once the Department's annual report and accounts are audited, signed and laid before Parliament.

NHS: Redundancy Pay

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much NHS foundation trusts spent on employee severance packages in each year from 2005-06 to 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: Monitor, the regulator for foundation trusts, only holds the requested information since 2010-11.
	In 2010-11, employee severance packages paid by foundation trusts totalled £3.2 million.
	In 2011-12, employee severance packages paid by foundation trusts totalled £1.2 million.
	However, the total severance packages paid may include contractual elements which Monitor is unable to separate from the non-contractual elements.

NHS: Redundancy Pay

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS severance packages contained confidentiality clauses in each year from 2005-06 to 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not hold this information. The Department reviews proposals to make special severance payments from national health service trusts, before either rejecting them or supporting them and sending to HM Treasury for approval. Foundation trusts send such proposals to HM Treasury via Monitor.
	Neither the Department nor Monitor routinely see the compromise agreements, which may include a confidentiality clause under which such payments are proposed.
	In future, special severance payments will be approved only where there is assurance that the compromise agreement under which they are being proposed includes a specific clause stating that nothing within the agreement prevents the individual from speaking out on issues such as patient care and safety, or anything else in the wider public interest.

NHS: Redundancy Pay

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2013, Official Report, column 361W, on NHS: redundancies, what the average cost per staff member was of such redundancies; what the largest individual redundancy payment was; how many such redundancies involved an individual redundancy payment of over (a) £50,000, (b) £100,000 and (c) £200,000; and what the total cost to the public purse was of such redundancies.

Norman Lamb: This information is not held centrally. The average cost of compulsory redundancies across the whole national health service in 2011-12 was £39,044

Prescriptions

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what requirement NICE has to take account of the value of innovation in a disease area where no effective treatment already exists.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) legislative framework requires it to have regard to the potential for long term benefits to the national health service of innovation in its work.
	From April 2013, NICE will be re-established as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 provides that, in exercising its functions, NICE must have regard to the desirability of promoting innovation in the provision of health services.
	NICE'S ‘Guide to the methods of technology appraisal’ explains that the innovative nature of the technology is one of the factors that its Appraisal Committees will take into account in deciding whether to recommend a technology at the higher end of the cost per Quality-Adjusted Life Year range that NICE uses in the development of its guidance. The guide is available at:
	www.nice.org.uk/media/B52/A7/TAMethodsGuideUpdated June2008.pdf

Prescriptions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether, under his plans for value-based pricing, treatments for diseases affecting older people will need to have higher than usual cost-effectiveness in order to be recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence;
	(2)  whether the age of patients will be a determinant factor in the value of medicines under his plans for value-based pricing.

Norman Lamb: The consultation document, “A new value-based approach to the pricing of branded medicines” set out our proposals for value-based pricing. The consultation ran from 16 December 2010 to 17 March 2011 and the Government's response to the consultation was published on 18 July 2011, “A new value-based approach to the pricing of branded medicines: Government response to consultation”.
	The impact assessment accompanying the consultation document set out an evaluation of the effects of our proposals including an assessment of the possible impact on NHS patients. Copies of the consultation document, the Government's response and the impact assessment have been already placed in the Library.
	The impact assessment will be updated in due course as the new pricing arrangements for branded medicines, including value-based pricing, are finalised.

School Milk

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stevenage of 6 March 2013, Official Report, column 1086W, on school milk, whether the European School Milk Scheme was open to early years settings, including Ofsted registered settings, prior to 2008; what EU rules changed in 2008 that extended the European School Milk Scheme to early years settings; and for which breaches of the EU requirements the Government was asked to return £2,641,271.08 to the European Commission in 2010.

David Heath: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	Approved applicants were able to claim under the European School Milk Scheme for nurseries linked to primary schools prior to 2008. The EU rules were amended in 2008, from which time access to the scheme was granted to all early years settings.
	The Government decided to return the £2,641,271.08 because there were concerns over nursery settings' ability to comply in full with onerous EU record-keeping requirements.

Sheepmeat

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when (a) the Food Standards Agency and (b) Ministers were informed of the discovery of 57 tonnes of British mutton at the Spanghero factory in France.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) was first alerted to the French authorities' initial findings at the French company Spanghero by the United Kingdom Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer on 22 February 2013. This started an immediate investigation which is ongoing. The FSA was formally notified by France through the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) system on 27 February 2013.
	The FSA informed me on 20 March 2013. As regards Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Ministers, this issue was first included in a ministerial briefing pack for (DEFRA) oral questions on 7 March 2013, but the issue was raised substantively on 18 March when officials provided briefing for my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath), Minister of State for agriculture and food.
	FSA inspectors had visited Central Food Services on several occasions after the UK moratorium came into effect on 28 April 2012. The evidence disclosed at these visits, including documentary evidence and full inspections of the entire premises, indicated that unused desinewed meat—DSM—produced from ruminant bones, prohibited under the moratorium, had been disposed of as animal by-products in accordance with the terms of the moratorium.
	However, evidence uncovered at the visits carried out after the information was received from the French authorities has confirmed that Central Food Services dispatched a number of consignments of desinewed lamb to Spanghero in breach of the moratorium after the moratorium had commenced.
	The FSA continues to investigate the extent of the breach. To date there is nothing to suggest that Central Food Services, or any other business, manufactured DSM from ruminant bones after the moratorium commenced. There is also no evidence to suggest any link with the horse meat issue, beyond the involvement of Spanghero.

Surgery

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total annual reference costs are for all surgical procedures in the NHS.

Norman Lamb: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Annual reference costs are collected from national health service trusts and NHS foundation trusts by health care resource groups (HRGs). HRGs are standard groupings of clinically similar treatments which use similar levels of health care resource, and may be distinguished as either diagnosis driven (where there are no major procedure codes in the patient record) or procedure-driven.
	The total cost of all procedure-driven HRGs in admitted patient care or out-patient settings in 2011-12 reference costs is estimated at approximately £13 billion. It is not possible to distinguish between surgical and non-surgical procedures from within this amount.
	A list of the procedure driven HRGs used to inform this estimate has been placed in the Library.

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date he or his predecessor was made aware of the details of the arrangements for the severance of Mr Tony Halsall from the position of chief executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay; and whether he or his predecessor were made aware of Mr Halsall's continued employment in the NHS.

Norman Lamb: University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay is a national health service foundation trust. The Department does not see special severance payments from foundation trusts, foundation trusts are required to send such proposals to HM Treasury for approval via Monitor.
	The trust released a statement on 20 March 2013 outlining the details of the departure confirming that Mr Tony Halsall remains an employee of the trust but is currently on secondment to the NHS Confederation and that the agreed severance arrangements at the end of the secondment do not involve a special severance payment.

WALES

Domestic Visits

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times he has visited each parliamentary constituency in Wales in an official capacity since taking office.

Stephen Crabb: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given on 19 March 2013, Official Report, columns 668-69W.

Domestic Visits

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 668W, on domestic visits, how many such visits have been undertaken by (a) him and (b) each of his two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 406W, on Domestic Visits, what the venue was of each visit undertaken by (a) him and (b) each of his two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office Ministerial Team and I meet with numerous stakeholders across Wales, and in London; to enhance the economic prospects of Wales; to guard the constitutional settlement and to further the interests of the people of Wales. Details of all the organisations my ministerial colleagues and I meet are regularly published on the Wales Office website.
	Pursuant to my answers of 18 and 19 March 2013, Official Report, columns 406W and 668W respectively, the split in these visits, and the locations they were undertaken in, between the Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd West (Mr Jones), the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my Noble Friend Baroness Randerson, and I are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Constituency Secretary of State for Wales (David Jones) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Baroness Randerson) 
			 Aberconwy 2 — — 
			 Alyn and Deeside 4 — — 
			 Arfon 1 — — 
			 Cardiff Central 20 8 18 
			 Cardiff South and Penarth — 2 1 
			 Cardiff West — — 1 
			 Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire — 3 — 
			 Clwyd South 1 — — 
			 Clwyd West 3 — — 
			 Islwyn 1 — — 
			 Monmouthshire — 1 — 
			 Newport East 1 2 1 
			 Newport West 1  1 
			 Preseli Pembrokeshire — 1 — 
			 Rhondda — — 1 
			 Swansea West — 1 1 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 1 1 1 
			 Ynys Mon 3 — — 
			 Note: This table shows the number of separate occasions these locations have been visited.

Government Expenditure: Females

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment his Department has made of the effect of Government spending reductions on women in Wales.

Stephen Crabb: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 670W.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Electoral Register

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces are registered to vote.

Mark Francois: The latest Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey published in August 2012 indicates that some 67% of regular service personnel have registered to vote.

Armed Forces: Pay

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing the x-factor element of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body's forty-second report 2013 by each rank to which it applies.

Mark Francois: The estimated total cost of implementing the X factor element of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body's (AFPRB) 2013 report is some £33 million for 11 months of financial year 2013-14 and £36 million per year thereafter. Rates of pay for each rank, including the 0.5% X factor increase are set out in the AFPRB's 2013 report, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many advanced explosive ordnance disposal operators have been made redundant in tranches 1 and 2; and how many are liable for redundancy in tranche 3.

Mark Francois: Statistics for tranches 1 and 2 of the armed forces' redundancy scheme can be found on the Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) website at the following address:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=67&pubType=0&thiscontent=5100&date=2012-08-24
	No advanced explosive ordnance disposal operators were made redundant in tranches 1 or 2; and none are liable for redundancy in tranche 3.

Armed Forces: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Scottish-based service personnel serving in the infantry are liable for redundancy under tranche 3; and at what ranks such service personnel are.

Mark Francois: An individual's unit or where they are stationed is not a factor in the decision to select service personnel for redundancy.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 644W. As part of the January 2013 redundancy announcement for tranche 3 that earmarked 5,300 posts, 654 Infantry personnel between the ranks of Private and Corporal are liable for selection for redundancy.

Army

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) military personnel and (b) UK-based civilians are currently serving in (i) Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, (ii) 2 Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and (iii) 110 Provost Company Royal Military Police; and how many (A) spouses and (B) school-age children are attached to each unit.

Mark Francois: The numbers currently serving in the units concerned are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Unit Military personnel UK based civilian personnel Spouses/civil partners School-age children 
			 Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 430 0 220 200 
			 2 Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 310 (1)— 140 130 
			 110 Provost Company Royal Military Police 100 0 40 30 
			 (1 )Less than 5. Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 
		
	
	These units are stationed in Germany at present and are due to move to Leuchars from 2015 as announced in the Army Basing Plan by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) on 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 845.
	The Ministry of Defence will now begin the process of detailed planning and necessary engagement with the stakeholders concerned, including local councils, to deliver the Army Basing Plan and ensure the minimum disruption to Army personnel, their families and the local community.

British Overseas Territories

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military assets are deployed in (a) Anguilla, (b) Bermuda, (c) British Antarctic Territory, (d) British Indian Ocean Territory, (e) British Virgin Islands, (f) Cayman Islands, (g) Falkland Islands, (h) Gibraltar, (i) Montserrat, (j) Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, (k) St Helena and St Helena Dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha), (l) South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, (m) Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and (n) the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has four bases located in UK overseas territories. These are termed permanent joint operating bases and consist of British Forces Gibraltar, British Forces Cyprus located within the sovereign base areas, the British Indian Ocean Territory and British Forces South Atlantic Islands based in Falklands Islands and Ascension Island. This reflects the MOD's commitment and responsibility for defence and security of the UK's overseas territories as a standing military task.
	The military assets deployed in each of the permanent joint operating bases are presented in the following table:
	
		
			 Permanent joint operating bases Air Land Sea 
			 British Forces South Atlantic Islands 4 x Air Defence Typhoon l xVC10K air to air refuelling tanker 1 x Hercules C130J transport aircraft 2 x Sea King Search and Rescue Helicopters 2 x Sikorsky S61 Support Helicopters(1) Air Surveillance Radars Rapier Air Defence batteries 1 x Infantry Company HMS Clyde (Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel) 
			 British Forces Cyprus 3 x Griffin Search and Rescue Helicopters 2x Infantry Battalions 2 x Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats 
			 Gibraltar — Royal Gibraltar Regiment 2 x Fast Patrol Boats 3 x Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats 
			 British Indian Ocean Territory — — 5 x Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats 
			 (1 )These aircraft are civilian owned and operated and operate under contract to the MOD 
		
	
	The Ministry of Defence has no military assets deployed in Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, St Helena and St Helena Dependencies (Tristan da Cunha) South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands or at the Turks and Caicos Islands.

British Overseas Territories

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on programmes or projects related to (a) Anguilla, (b) Bermuda (c) British Antarctic Territory, (d) British Indian Ocean Territory, (e) British Virgin Islands, (f) Cayman Islands, (g) Falkland Islands, (h) Gibraltar, (i) Montserrat, (j) Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, (k) St Helena and St Helena Dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha), (l) South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, (m) the Sovereign Base areas of Akritiri and Dhekelia and (n) the Turks and Caicos Islands in each of the last three years.

Andrew Robathan: Costs shown in the following table reflect Ministry of Defence (MOD)'s commitment and responsibility for defence and security of the UK's Overseas Territories as a standing military task and are rounded to the nearest £ million.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Financial year 
			 UK's Overseas Territories 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Anguilla 0 0 0 
			 Bermuda 0 0 0 
			 British Antarctic Territory 0 0 0 
			 British Indian Ocean Territory 2 3 2 
			 British Virgin Islands 0 0 0 
			 Cayman Islands 0 0 0 
			 Falkland Islands including (Ascension Island)(1) 95 68 67 
		
	
	
		
			 Gibraltar 58 58 53 
			 Montserrat 0 0 0 
			 Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands 0 0 0 
			 St Helena and St Helena Dependencies (Tristan da Cunha) 0 0 0 
			 South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands 0 0 0 
			 Akrotiri and Dhekelia(2) 227 208 188 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 0 0 
			 (1 )Figures for Falkland Islands include the costs associated with Ascension Island as these figures cannot be broken down further without incurring disproportionate cost. These figures do not include the costs associated with St Helena or Tristan da Cunha (of which there are none). (2) Figures for Akrotiri and Dhekelia include all MOD sites in British Forces Cyprus as these cannot be broken down further without incurring disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	These costs represent the Joint Forces Command Top Level Budget from 2012-13 and the Chief of Joint Operations Top Level Budget prior to this period. It also includes Defence Infrastructure Organisation costs incurred for these locations.

Consultants

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many consultants were hired to advise the (a) Defence Infrastructure Organisation, (b) Defence Science Innovation and Technology Laboratory, (c) Defence Support Group, (d) Hydrographic Office and (e) Meteorological Office between (i) 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011, (ii) 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012 and (iii) 1 April 2012 and January 2013;
	(2)  how many consultants were hired to advise the (a) Defence Equipment and Support, (b) HQ Air Command, (c) Land Forces and (d) Navy Command between (i) 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011, (ii) 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012 and (iii) 1 April 2012 and January 2013;
	(3)  how many consultants were hired to advise (a) Central TLB, (b) head office and corporate services, (c) chief of joint operations and (d) Joint Forces Command between (i) 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011, (ii) 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012 and (iii) 1 April 2012 and January 2013.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence negotiates contracts with consultancy companies to deliver a specific output at an agreed price. It does not specify the number of consultants to be employed as this is a matter for the contractor.
	Expenditure on external consultancy with a breakdown by category of expenditure is published in UK Defence Statistics at the following website:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/modintranet/UKDS/UKDS2012/c1/table109.php

Cyprus

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cash dispensing machines are situated within UK armed forces' bases in Cyprus.

Mark Francois: The Hellenic Bank Public Company Ltd have five cash dispensing machines at Akrotiri, (two) Ayios Nikolaos (one) and Dhekelia Station (two). The Cyprus Popular Bank have two cash dispensing machines at Episkopi Station. The British Forces Post Office provide a chip and pin service at Dhekelia, Akrotiri and Episkopi Stations for those with UK cash cards that have the necessary arrangements with the Post Office in the UK.

Cyprus

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed forces personnel and Ministry of Defence civil servants based in Cyprus have bank accounts in that country; and when his Department ceased to make payments to these accounts.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) may not be aware of all personal bank accounts but it routinely pays salaries for 192 civil servants and 1,737 UK armed forces personnel into Cyprus bank accounts.
	A decision was taken by the MOD on 19 March 2013 to hold payments into these accounts. All personnel have been asked to nominate a UK bank account into which their March salary can be paid.

Defence

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are taken by his Department as part of the threat assessment process.

Andrew Robathan: The Cabinet Office leads the monitoring of threats at national level through the biennial National Security Risk Assessment and the regular output of the Joint Intelligence Committee. The Ministry of Defence contributes fully to this work and in addition monitors in more detail some of the threats identified at national level.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any 105mm light guns will be based in Scotland following the basing review.

Mark Francois: Following the outcome of the regular Army basing plan announced on 5 March 2013, Official Report, columns 845-48, 105mm light guns will continue to be based in Scotland with 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery 7 (Sphinx), Commando Battery Royal Artillery at Royal Marines Condor, Arbroath.
	A small number of 105mm light guns are also held in Scotland for ceremonial purposes.
	The future location of any 105mm light guns with Army reserve units remains subject to the reserves announcement which is due before the summer recess.

Military Bases

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2013, Official Report, column 78W, on the army basing plan, what overall valuation of the announced land disposals consequent on the army basing review has been made for the purposes of his Department's budgetary planning.

Mark Francois: Although the disposal of some sites formed part of the announcement, details of any pre-sale valuations obtained in advance of land disposals will not be released as to do so could unduly influence the market.

Military Bases: Edinburgh

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of housing stock at Craigiehall.

Mark Francois: The final requirement for Service Family Accommodation to support the revised structure of the armed forces in Edinburgh has not yet been confirmed.

Military Bases: Edinburgh

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of service family accommodation at (a) Redford and (b) Dreghorn barracks will be used in each of the next five years; and which personnel are expected to be housed at each site during this period.

Mark Francois: The final requirement for Service Family Accommodation to support the revised structure of the armed forces in Edinburgh has not yet been confirmed.

Military Bases: Scotland

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the outcome of the basing review on the Defence Medical Services in Scotland.

Mark Francois: The provision of healthcare by the Defence Medical Services in Scotland should not be adversely affected by the basing review. Health-care provided at Defence medical and dental centres in Scotland will be adjusted if required to ensure service personnel continue to receive the highest standard of care.

Military Exercises

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assets are taking part in (a) Saharan Express and (b) Proud Mantra; how many personnel were deployed on each such operation; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of each operation.

Andrew Robathan: Saharan Express is a multi-national maritime exercise designed to improve co-operation among participating nations in order to increase counter-piracy capabilities and deter maritime crimes in West Africa. The UK, US and four other European nations together with eight West African nations have just completed participation in Saharan Express 13.
	The UK was represented by HMS Argyll, a Type 23 frigate, with a crew of 174 personnel. HMS Argyll was able to participate because she is in the region on UK Defence's standing commitment to maintain maritime security patrols in the North and South Atlantic. Costs associated with the exercise have not been collected separately, as HMS Argyll was concurrently on-task, fulfilling this standing commitment.
	Proud Manta is NATO's largest annual anti-submarine exercise designed to improve co-operation and inter-operability between NATO members; 11 nations participated this year. The UK deployed three Merlin Mk1 helicopters with 75 personnel as part of Proud Manta 2013 at a cost of £175,000.

Military Police: Edinburgh

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his oral statement of 5 March 2013, Official Report, columns 845-63W, on Army Basing Plan, whether Royal Military Police based at Edinburgh Castle will be moved in consequence of the Army Basing Plan; and where they will be based after any such move.

Mark Francois: There are no current plans to move the Royal Military Police based at Edinburgh castle.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the instructor to student ratio is for members of the Ministry of Defence police; and what estimate he has made of the likely change in the ratio in each of the next five years.

Mark Francois: The instructor to student ratio for members of the Ministry of Defence police varies according to the type of training being delivered. Therefore the ratio in each of the next five years will be determined by the category and frequency of training delivered.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Ministry of Defence Police Criminal Investigation Department have (a) been made redundant and (b) been moved to other posts within his Department in the last 12 months.

Mark Francois: Since 1 April 2012 in the Ministry of Defence Police Criminal Investigation Department there have been no redundancies and three members have moved to other posts within the Ministry of Defence Police.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were employed by the Ministry of Defence Police Criminal Investigation Department in (a) May 2010 and (b) March 2013.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence Police Criminal Investigation Department employed 205 police and civilian staff as at 1 May 2010. There were 154 police and civilian staff employed as at 1 March 2013.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the statement of 27 March 2012, Official Report, column 116WS, on Defence, Police and Guarding Agency, when he will report to Parliament the results of the consultation on the future of the Ministry of Defence police.

Mark Francois: Formal consultation is in hand on detailed proposals resulting from the changes announced last year. I will make a further statement once final decisions on those proposals have been taken. I would expect to be able to do so in the summer.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the saving to the public purse as a result of actions taken by the Ministry of Defence police CID in disrupting conspiracies to commit crime in each of the last five financial years.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence police (MDP) has recorded the following crime disruption figures:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2012-13 117,689 
			 2011-12 4,074,900 
			 2010-11 49,674 
		
	
	The MDP only hold established disruption figures from 2010. The figures recorded are for all disruptions which would include any element of conspiracy.

Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what allowances and subsidies in addition to salary were available to officials in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value was of such payments and allowances in each such year.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence currently has over 500 pay-related allowances and subsidies in addition to salary available to civilian staff. This follows the removal of approximately 800 allowances in 2004-05. Nevertheless, the number and purpose of these remaining allowances is the subject of an ongoing efficiency review.
	The total cost of these allowances and subsidies in each of the last five financial years was as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Total cost (£ million) 
			 2007-08 211.238 
			 2008-09 237.207 
			 2009-10 245.377 
			 2010-11 225.206 
			 2011-12 212.234 
		
	
	A full breakdown of the monetary value of each type of allowance and subsidy in addition to salary, in each of the last five financial years, will be placed in the Library of the House. These allowances include those for the cost of living overseas, allowances for shift work and unsociable hours and skills specific allowances.
	Other allowances and payments for the reimbursement of costs associated with transferring to a new location following a posting are payable. However, these have been excluded from total costs provided above as they are not salary-related, but claims for expenses incurred.
	The Department has one non-departmental public body which has a separate pay and grading delegation, the Royal Air Force Museum. Information on the Royal Air Force Museum will be placed in the Library of the House.

RAF Leuchars

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the titles are of the (a) sustainability studies, (b) other environmental studies and (c) associated action plans (i) completed and (ii) commissioned in relation to the transfer of the Typhoon Force from RAF Leuchars and the arrival of Army units.

Andrew Robathan: The following sustainable development assessments have been completed to date for the relocation of the Typhoon Force from RAF Leuchars to RAF Lossiemouth, and the arrival of Army units:
	a sustainability appraisal for the development of the estate at RAF Lossiemouth, to facilitate the arrival and future operation of up to three Typhoon Fighter 2 Squadrons, including the Northern Quick Reaction Alert facility;
	a sustainability appraisal for the delivery of an Adaptable Force Brigade Scotland, including Leuchars, Cavalry Barracks Redford, Dreghorn Barracks, Fort George, Glencorse and Kinloss;
	an updated sustainability appraisal for the Base Optimisation Programme (BOP) in Scotland; and
	an updated sustainable development action plan for the overarching BOP.
	In addition, the following site-specific environmental assessments are planned to be commissioned in 2013 for all the sites in scope:
	ecological desk and field scoping surveys, assessment of development constraints and recommendations for further ecological surveys; and
	cultural heritage desktop scoping assessments, assessment of development constraints and recommendations for further heritage surveys.
	The above reports will support the forthcoming assessment studies on all the sites in scope.

RAF Lyneham

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the historic Comet aircraft which is at the entrance to the former RAF Lyneham base.

Andrew Robathan: The RAF are currently examining options for the future of the De Havilland Comet C2 XK699 which is the gate guardian at the former RAF Lyneham. No decision has yet been made.

RAF Police

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what limitations the RAF places on recruitment to the RAF police due to previous temporary residence in another Commonwealth nation.

Mark Francois: Candidates applying for commissioned Service in the RAF police must hold developed vetting (DV) clearance, which in accordance with Cabinet Office instructions requires an individual to have resided continuously in the UK for 10 years immediately prior to their application. Candidates wishing to apply for non-commissioned service in the RAF police must hold security check (SC) clearance and should have at least five years continuous residency in the UK immediately prior to their application.
	On a case-by-case basis the RAF can opt to reduce this requirement to seven years of continuous residency (for developed vetting) and three years (for security check). A residency waiver may also be considered for candidates who have undertaken full-time study overseas or those who have taken a gap year or studied abroad for a short period, but meet all other eligibility criteria.

Theft

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the potential increase in theft and loss from the Ministry of Defence estate as a result of the reduction in the number of Ministry of Defence Police CID detectives.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) police criminal investigation department will continue to provide an effective investigative capability using police powers to support the MOD's new counter fraud and loss department, which aims to improve the way fraud and theft is managed across Defence.

Theft

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made on his plans to create a Defence Fraud and Loss Unit in his Department.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is making good progress in establishing a dedicated Counter Fraud and Loss Prevention Unit. It has appointed a new head of counter fraud, loss and prevention at senior civil service level, and is currently recruiting a well-qualified team of counter fraud specialists to support efforts to reduce fraud and theft.
	The Department has adopted a new Counter Fraud Strategy and a Counter Fraud and Loss Prevention Board has been established to drive improvements in managing the risk of fraud and loss across the MOD.

United Arab Emirates

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long he expects the 906 Expeditionary Air Wing to be based at Al Minhad air base.

Andrew Robathan: The RAF's 906 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) was stood up in the United Arab Emirates on 15 January 2013, replacing B Flight of 901 EAW. Its tasks include the provision of support to air transport links between the UK and deployed operations in Afghanistan, as well as logistic support to deployed forces. It is also responsible for supporting RAF aircraft conducting joint exercises in the region. No decision has yet been made on an end date for 906 EAW's basing at Al Minhad.

United Arab Emirates

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of deploying 906 Expeditionary Air Wing at Al Minhad air base;
	(2)  what (a) assets and (b) munitions are deployed to Al Minhad air base;
	(3)  how many personnel are deployed to Al Minhad air base as part of (a) the 906 Expeditionary Air Wing and (b) other operations.

Andrew Robathan: 906 Expeditionary Air Wing, based at Al Minhad in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), provides support to air transport links between the UK and operations in Afghanistan. The wing has a secondary role supporting RAF aircraft conducting joint exercises in the region such as the RAF's Tornado, Typhoon and E-3D Sentry aircraft which regularly exercise with Gulf Co-operation Council members.
	The number of assets and munitions deployed, either for exercises or supporting operations, is constantly changing depending on the activity at the time. There are currently a number of Tornado aircraft deployed to the UAE supporting the biannual advanced tactical leadership course which involves aircrew from Gulf Cooperation Council partners as well as RAF and US personnel. In addition a C-17 aircraft is currently deployed to Al Minhad supporting operations in Afghanistan. There are around 100 UK personnel currently deployed to the UAE on operations, including those at Al Minhad air base as part of 906 Expeditionary Air Wing.
	The precise number of personnel fluctuates on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including mid-tour rest and recuperation, temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces, visits and a range of other factors. We do not, therefore, publish actual figures for personnel deployed on operations and the figure above is rounded to the nearest 50 personnel.
	The approximate cost for 906 Expeditionary Air Wing is £248,000 per month. This figure will fluctuate due to personnel levels changing and exchange rates varying.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what reports he has received on whether the US administration is operating unmanned aerial vehicles from any UK RAF base;
	(2)  what oversight the RAF has of US unmanned aerial vehicles where such operations originate from the UK.

Andrew Robathan: The US does not operate remotely piloted aircraft systems from the UK.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the cable linking RAF Croughton to Camp Lemonier is used to support US unmanned aerial vehicle operations.

Andrew Robathan: RAF Croughton is part of a worldwide US Defence communications network, and the base supports a variety of communications activity. The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on what support to US operations is provided by RAF Croughton.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support the RAF is providing to the United States for unmanned aerial vehicle operations outside the UK.

Andrew Robathan: RAF personnel routinely operate Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) alongside US personnel in Afghanistan as part of the Launch and Recovery Element for NATO international security assistance force (ISAF) missions.
	A small number of RAF personnel are also embedded with 432nd Wing of the US Air Force at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada and the USAF Formal Training Unit, at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

USA

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on whether the US bases at USAF Croughton and the Joint Analysis Center at RAF Molesworth are being used in connection with the US drone programme.

Andrew Robathan: RAF Croughton is part of a worldwide US Defence communications network, and the base supports a variety of communications activity. The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on whether RAF Croughton or RAF Molesworth are used to support US operations.

USA

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on whether the US Air Force is operating unmanned aerial vehicles from the UK.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 19 March 2013
	The US Air Force does not operate remotely piloted aircraft systems from the UK.

World War II: Military Decorations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that all surviving former military personnel entitled to the Arctic Convoy medal receive notification of how they can receive it;
	(2)  by what date he expects to have contacted all surviving former military personnel involved in the Arctic Convoys to indicate their entitlement to the proposed medal.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence does not hold reliable records of all surviving Arctic Convoy veterans. However, we have established a clear application process that veterans need to follow in order to be assessed against the eligibility criteria for the award of the Arctic Star Medal. The Prime Minister presented the first medals to veterans at an awards ceremony on 19 March 2013. Forms have been sent to veterans who have inquired about the medal and these forms are also available from the Veterans UK website. The Ministry of Defence Medal Office, which is responsible for the application process, is fast tracking those applications from surviving veterans and widows in order to get medals to veterans as soon as we can.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bridges

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with the First Minister, Deputy First Minister and Minister for Finance in the Northern Ireland Executive on the provision of the required funding for the construction of Narrow Water bridge between Warrenpoint in County Down and Cooley in County Louth in the Republic of Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The hon. Member will be aware that these are transferred matters that are wholly the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers who have not raised them with me or the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers).

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Civil Partnerships

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  what advice she has received on the financial effect of the extension of civil partnerships to opposite sex couples;
	(2)  whether any of the submissions to her equal civil marriage consultation analysed the financial effect of the extension of civil partnerships to opposite sex couples;
	(3)  whether the Government have conducted an assessment of the potential effects of extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples.

Helen Grant: holding answer 18 March 2013
	The Government do not have a policy to extend civil partnerships to opposite sex couples and therefore no assessment of the effect, financial or otherwise, of the extension of civil partnerships to opposite sex couples has been conducted.

Tourette's Syndrome

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what her policy is on ensuring that those issued with identity cards by the registered charity Tourette Syndrome (UK) Association following receipt of medical evidence from a recognised specialist are accepted as being disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010; what guidance (a) has been given and (b) will be given to organisations subject to the public sector equality duty to ensure that those so identified are presumed to be and accepted as being disabled; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: To qualify for protection under the Equality Act 2010 someone must meet the Act's definition of a disabled person. Disability within the Act is not defined through each specific condition, but rather in general terms. The general definition of disability for the purposes of the Act is
	“a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.
	Under both the Equality Act and the public sector Equality Duty, public bodies are required to consider the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between people with different characteristics, including people who are disabled. The Government produced a series of ‘quick start’ guides to help public bodies understand the legal requirements under the Equality Duty.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy: Housing

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average energy performance certificate score of (a) housing in off the gas grid areas and (b) housing in gas grid areas.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 21 March 2013
	The Department does not currently hold this information. Data from energy performance certificates (EPCs), which is the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), is not held in a way which allows the information requested to be calculated.

Energy: Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of households are off grid for gas supply in each (a) local authority area and (b) region.

John Hayes: The exact number and proportion of households who are off the gas grid is not held centrally.
	Estimates have been produced based on information held from two administrative sources; these are the Gemserv database on the location of electricity meters, and data from xoserve and independent gas transporters on the location of gas meters. Subtracting the number of gas meters from the number of electricity meters produces a broad estimate of the number of off grid properties. However some households can have more than one electricity meter associated with their property (for instance, a supply for communal facilities such as-stairwell lighting or a lift). Additionally, the standard gas industry definition of domestic use uses a consumption threshold, with any consumer using less than 73,200 kWh of gas per year being classed as a domestic user; it is estimated that—Great Britain wide—this definition allocates around 2 million small business users as domestic. Furthermore a small number of meters (less than one third of 1%) do not have sufficient information associated with them to be able to allocate them to a specific area. The underlying data on the number of gas and electricity meters in each local authority is available on the Department’s website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/regional-and-local-authority-electricity-consumption-statistics-2005-to-2011
	and
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/gas-sales-and-numbers-of-customers-by-region-and-local-authority
	A table showing, for 2011, the number of domestic electricity meter points, the number of gas meter points where consumption was less than 73,200 kWh, the difference between the two figures (which forms an estimate of the number of households off the gas grid), and derived from this, the estimated proportion of households off the gas grid in each local authority and region in Great Britain, has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Energy: North Sea

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the level of production of (a) oil and gas and (b) renewable energy sources in the North sea in each year up to 2019-20.

John Hayes: The Department does not estimate future levels of production from the North sea area alone but out-turn data on, and projections of, oil and gas production are published at for the entire United Kingdom and UK continental shelf:
	https://www.gov.uk/oil-and-gas-uk-field-data
	Out-turn data on renewable energy generation are published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
	We publish energy demand projections (which include UK demand for renewable and waste energy) at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/energy-and-emissions-projections

Fracking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in which local authority areas shale gas has been discovered.

John Hayes: The Department classifies as a discovery any onshore gas well which flows gas at a rate of at least 0.2 million cubic feet per day. Although the presence of gas has been noted in a number of shales around the UK in the course of oil and gas drilling, the only discovery in the UK to meet this criterion is in Lancashire.

Fuel Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding his Department has made available for combating fuel poverty in each year for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: Assistance to the fuel poor and those at risk of fuel poverty is provided through a number of DECC policies and programmes.
	
		
			 Funding for warm home discount, warm front and associated expenditure 
			  Budget (£ million) 
			 2000-01 73 
			 2001-02 197 
			 2002-03 163 
			 2003-04 152 
			 2004-05 165 
			 2005-06 190 
			 2006-07 315 
			 2007-08 350 
			 2008-09 395 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 369 
			 2010-11 366 
			 2011-12 382.5 
			 2012-13 (1)388 
			 (1) Of the £100 million made available in 2012-13, up to £31 million of this budget will be utilised for the local authority competition. 
		
	
	Assistance to the fuel poor and those at risk of fuel poverty has also been provided through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) schemes and, going forward, the Energy Company Obligation will provide assistance worth an estimated £540 million to low income, vulnerable households.
	In addition, assistance is provided by the Department of Work and Pensions’ cold weather payments and winter fuel payments.

Renewables Obligation

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if his Department will take steps to amend the renewables obligation subsidies to renewables in proportion to the change in the wholesale price attributable to carbon price support. [R]

John Hayes: The impact of the carbon price floor on wholesale prices was taken account of in the analysis to inform the renewables obligation banding review, as detailed in the final stage impact assessment published in July 2012(1). The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced in the March Budget 2013 that the carbon price floor trajectory will remain as planned.
	(1)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/42847/5945-renewables-obligation-government-response-impact-a.pdf

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff from his Department were seconded to each of the top six energy suppliers to work on the development of energy policy in each year for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: No people have been on secondment from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to any the top six energy suppliers within the last financial year.

JUSTICE

Burglary

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of victims of residential burglary of each ethnic group in (a) Dartford, (b) Kent and (c) the UK in the last five years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Justice for the number of victims of residential burglary of each ethnic group in (a) Dartford, (b) Kent and (c)the UK in the last five years (149181)
	The two main sources of crime statistics are police recorded crime and the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), and a breakdown by ethnic group is only provided by the CSEW. CSEW data are not available at the focal authority level so we are unable to provide any estimates for Dartford and Kent.
	The number of victims of burglary, broken down by ethnic group as estimated by the CSEW are provided for the last five financial years (April to March) for England and Wales.
	
		
			 England and Wales 
			 Adults aged 16 and over 
			 Ethnic group 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			 White 854,261 924,970 817,580 977,860 816,376 
			 Mixed 16,771 22,916 29,078 18,201 23,600 
			 Asian or Asian British 72,594 62,130 82,605 87,130 100,942 
			 Black or Black British 49,205 39,520 38,414 50,535 54,163 
			 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group 28,415 24,914 19,769 23,922 31,493 
			 Notes: 1. The Population Estimates by Ethnic Group are experimental statistics, and have not been shown to meet the standards required of National Statistics. Information on sources of uncertainty is prodded in the Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) document available from this link: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/quality/quality-information/index.html 2. Mid-year population estimates by ethnic group are not available after mid-2009 therefore the proportion of the mid-2009 ethnic estimates has been applied to the 16 and overpopulation estimate for mid-2010 and mid-2011. Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales and Mid-year population estimates by ethnic group 
		
	
	An additional table has also been provided which shows the proportion of the population who were victims of burglary broken down by ethnic group for England and Wales.
	
		
			 England and Wales 
			 Percentage 
			 Ethnic group 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			 White 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.5 2.0 
			 Mixed 3.4 4.4 5.3 3.3 4.3 
			 Asian or Asian British 3.2 2.6 3.3 3.5 4.0 
			 Black or Black British 4.4 3.4 3.2 4.2 4.4 
			 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group 4.2 3.5 2.6 3.1 4.1 
			 Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales 
		
	
	The crime statistics data published by the ONS cover England and Wales only. Crime data for Scotland are published at:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice
	and data for Northern Ireland are published at:
	http://www.psni.police.uk/index/updates/updates_statistics/update_crime_statistics.htm

Courts: Translation Services

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department as a result of the implementation of the ALS/Capita contract for court translation and interpreting services.

Helen Grant: The estimate of savings under the language services call-off contract with Capita is based on the pre-contract spend of approximately £30 million each year. This covers courts, tribunals and the National Offender Management Service.
	The savings in the first year of the contract's operation are estimated at £15 million.

Courts: Translation Services

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will review (a) how many people have been wrongly convicted and (b) the number of potentially guilty people acquitted as a result of errors by translators employed under the ALS/Capita contract; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: We have no plan at present to undertake any review of convictions or acquittals in interpreter court cases.
	The judiciary is responsible for ensuring that defendants get a fair hearing. If there are any issues with interpretation the judge will stop the proceedings and resolve those issues. The Ministry of Justice monitors performance under the contract, which has an associated complaints system. Only a very small proportion of complaints relate to the quality of the interpreter. We have received no complaints that wrong convictions have been made as a result of problems with interpreters.

Driving: Eyesight

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many drivers were prosecuted for failing to meet the requirement for visual recognition of a vehicle registration number plate in each police authority area in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, not all offences are individually recorded within the centrally held data. Offences of Driving a motor vehicle on a road with eyesight which did not comply with requirements under section 96(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 are reported as part of a miscellaneous group of offences, and it is not possible to separately identify prosecutions for this specific offence.

Employment Tribunals Service

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) employment tribunal and (b) employment appeal tribunal cases in each year since 2000-01 concerned complaints about the application of (i) transfer of undertakings and (ii) protection of employment regulations in the bus industry.

Helen Grant: Data on the number of claims made in relation to complaints about Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment Regulations in the bus industry in particular are not collated centrally. This information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost by manually checking hard copy tribunal files or judgments. Data which relate to the transfer of an undertaking—failure to inform and consult generally is collected. These data are published annually and quarterly and are available on the Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/tribunals

Gender Recognition

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have obtained (a) a full and (b) an interim gender recognition certificate since the coming into force of the Gender Recognition Act 2004; how many people in category (b) subsequently dissolved their marriage in order to obtain a full gender recognition certificate; and of those, how many subsequently (i) formed a civil partnership with the person to whom they were formerly married and (ii) are known through tax or benefit records still to have co-habited with the person to whom they were formerly married.

Helen Grant: Since the Gender Recognition Act 2004 was introduced on 4 April 2005 the number of interim and full gender recognition certificates issued by the Gender Recognition Panel up to 30 September 2012 is as follows:
	Full certificates: 3,230
	Interim certificates: 151.
	Figures are published quarterly in the Gender Recognition Bulletin on the Ministry of Justice website at the following link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/tribunals/gender-recognition-certificate-statistics
	The next update showing figures up to end of December 2012 will be published on 4 April 2013 on the same site.
	We do not formally capture data on the number of people who have ended their marriage due to the issue of a Gender Recognition Certificate and reliable estimates are not currently available.
	There is no information available on the number of people who were previously married and either subsequently entered into a civil partnership or continue to cohabit with their former spouse.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will estimate what the (a) total and (b) average annual savings of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 has been.

Jeremy Wright: Estimates of savings, expected from the reforms contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, can be found in the Impact Assessments carried out at Royal Assent. These Impact Assessments have been published on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/legislation/bills-and-acts/acts/legal-aid-and-sentencing-act/laspo-background-information

Offenders: Fines

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what proportion of sentences involving fines a deduction from benefits order was issued in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Helen Grant: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to Lord Touhig by my noble Friend, Lord McNally on 12 March 2013, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA52.
	Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) systems do not identify how many fines have been or are being paid by deduction from benefits orders.
	HMCTS is only able to identify how many applications for deductions from benefits orders are made to the Department of Work and Pensions each year, but this does not indicate how many of these applications were successful or how many fines this relates to. Fines can only be deducted from certain benefits and only if there are not already too many other third-party deductions being taken from the benefits claim, so not all applications for a deduction from benefits orders are successful. Offenders who are claiming benefits often start and stop claiming benefits a number of times, which results in the deduction from benefits order ceasing and needing to be re-applied for when the offender is claiming the relevant benefit again. This means that some fine accounts will have multiple applications for deduction from benefits and that the number of applications for deductions orders does not correlate to the number of fines being paid by this method.
	HMCTS takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on fine defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS is always looking at ways to improve the collection of fines. The use of the deduction from benefits order is an automatic sanction for offenders who are in default and are known to be claiming benefits.

Offenders: Fines

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what proportion of sentences involving fines the offender was living in relative income poverty in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Helen Grant: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to Lord Touhig by my noble Friend, Lord McNally on 12 March 2013, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA52:
	Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not know how many offenders are living in income poverty at the time of sentence.
	The information HMCTS holds on offenders is provided by the prosecuting authorities, by the offenders themselves, and by using the tracing tools HMCTS has at its disposal, such as the Experian credit reference agency and the Department for Work and Pensions customer information system. The means form that defendants are instructed to complete asks them to provide details of their income and expenditure so that the court is aware of their financial circumstances at the time of sentence and can therefore set an appropriate sentence. Many defendants, however, do not provide financial means information to the court, so HMCTS does not know what level of financial income they have.
	HMCTS takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on fine defaulters is a continued priority nationwide.

Offenders: Fines

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the effect of court imposed fines on the dependent children of offenders in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Helen Grant: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not have any way of identifying offenders who have dependant children.
	The information HMCTS holds on offenders is provided by the prosecuting authorities, the offenders themselves and by using the tracing tools HMCTS has at its disposal such as the Experian credit reference agency and the Department for Work and Pensions customer information system. The means form which defendants are asked to complete asks them to provide details of how many dependant children they have and how much they have to pay out in child maintenance but as many defendants do not provide financial means information to the court HMCTS does not know what commitments they have regarding children.
	HMCTS takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on fine defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS are always looking at ways to improve the collection of fines. As a part of the future strategy HMCTS will be considering numerous ways in which performance can be improved, this could include offender profiling.

Parole

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many offenders released on licence under the supervision of the Probation Service were identified as (a) low risk, (b) medium risk or (c) high risk between 1997 and 2012;
	(2)  how many offenders were released on licence under the supervision of the Probation Service in each year between 1997 and 2012.

Jeremy Wright: Table 1 as follows shows the number of prisoners released on licence from determinate sentences in each year since 1999. Data for 1997 and 1998 are not readily accessible in this format and the latest full year for which we have published information is 2011.
	Information held centrally on prison discharges does not currently include an assessment of risk.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Table 1: Prisoners discharged on licence from determinate sentences(1, 2), England and Wales 
			  Total 
			 1999 44,100 
			 2000 43,200 
			 2001 41,400 
			 2002 42,800 
			 2003 42,100 
			 2004 41,800 
		
	
	
		
			 2005 41,800 
			 2006 40,300 
			 2007 42,600 
			 2008 45,500 
			 2009 44,700 
			 2010 49,312 
			 2011 47,530 
			 (1) Includes discharges from determinate sentences of 12 months or more, and all young offenders discharged from determinate sentences of less than 12 months. (2 )Figures from 2001 to 2009 have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Prisoners: Criminal Records

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what measures are in place to ensure prisoners do not access or retain inappropriate images of their victims from case files in the (a) secure adult male estate, (b) secure adult female estate and (c) secure youth estate;
	(2)  what the rules are governing access to case files for people convicted where (a) there is an ongoing appeal and (b) all avenues of appeal have been exhausted;
	(3)  what plans his Department has to reform prisoners' access to their case files including indecent or offensive images of their victims.

Jeremy Wright: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), is extremely concerned about prisoners possessing materials such as photos of victims of crime scenes as part of their legal papers. He has decided that restrictions must be placed on this material urgently and has instructed the Prison Service to take this forward.
	The Crown Prosecution Service must disclose all material to prisoners' defence teams. In order to help them prepare their defence or appeal, prisoners may keep in their possession legal material provided to them by the CPS or by their lawyer. This is an important aspect of ensuring that prisoners are able to properly prepare for their defence or their appeal. This material is protected under the principle of legal professional privilege (LPP) which is defined in the Freedom of Information Act as
	“a rule of law that protects the confidentiality of communications made between a lawyer and his or her client”.
	The privilege belongs to the client and may be waved only by the client.
	This material is subject to confidentially privileged handling arrangements under rule 39 of the prison rules and cannot be stopped, opened or read by prison staff unless the governor has reasonable cause to believe that its contents could endanger prison security, the safety of others or is otherwise criminal in nature. The same privilege is extended to cover material which is handed over during the course of a legal visit and which is covered under rule 38 of the prison rules.
	Where legally privileged material is discovered that would be inappropriate for prisoners to keep in their possession, or there is evidence that prisoners are misusing such material, Governors may remove and secure it while making alternative arrangements to allow the prisoner to view the material in private so as not to jeopardise their legal right to a fair trial.
	The National Offender Management Service policy documents relating to this can be found in Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 49/2011 (Prisoner Communications Services) and PSI 16/2011 (Providing Visits and Services to Visitors), both of which are available in the House of Commons Library.

Prisoners: Mental Illness

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health about the transfer of prisoners to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983, and steps to speed up admissions to and discharges from secure hospitals.

Jeremy Wright: Officials from both Departments have discussed and agreed the contents of a Department of Health Best Practice Guide for prison transfers alongside Prison Service Instructions. These have recently been revised to reflect the new NHS structures and will be published shortly.

Prisons: Gyms

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the turn over cost was of procuring gymnasium equipment in prisons in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The net cost of procuring gymnasium equipment within the HM Prison Service in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2008-09 2,454,923 
			 2009-10 1,854,022 
			 2010-11 1,864,129 
			 2011-12 1,437,929 
			 2012-13 (1)682,388 
			 (1 )Quarters 1 and 2. 
		
	
	Expenditure within this spend area has significantly reduced as a direct result of budget reduction and the move towards purchasing remanufactured gymnasium equipment across the estate to reduce cost.
	Physical exercise continues to play an important part in a prison regime by providing purposeful activity and engagement with prisoners. In addition, PE can make a major contribution to the physical, mental and social well being of prisoners.

Prisons: Television

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons award in-cell television privileges for inmates; and what the cost to the public purse has been of such privileges in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: I want to ensure that the public have confidence in the prison system. It is crucial that they are assured that any privileges earned in prison are gained through hard work and appropriate behaviour. I am therefore looking closely at the policy around the incentives scheme for prisoners as I want to be clear that these incentives and privileges, including access to in cell television, are pitched at the right level and that they have credibility with the public. The outcome of the review will be announced in due course.
	Under the current system, access to in-cell television is available as a key earnable privilege under the incentives and earned privileges (IEP) scheme in all establishments across England and Wales. Prison Service Instruction 11/2011 refers, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library. The IEP scheme must consist of at least three tiers (basic, standard and enhanced). Access to in-cell television is restricted to prisoners who have earned standard or enhanced level, is a forfeitable privilege, and prisoners are charged for use. The provision of in-cell television is self-financing from the rental payments made by prisoners.

Probation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of offenders completed approved programmes in each probation trust area in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11;
	(2)  what the cost was of approved programmes in each probation trust area in each year since 2007.

Jeremy Wright: I have interpreted the questions as relating to accredited offending behaviour programmes.
	Not all offenders serving a community sentence will have a requirement to attend an accredited programme as part of the sentence made by the court. The sentencer's decision to include a programme requirement will be informed in each case by the likely positive effect that a specific programme can achieve in terms of addressing an individual's offending behaviour.
	In order to monitor the extent to which offenders who commence a programme requirement go on to complete it, NOMS measures completion rates for accredited programmes. These are set out in the table at probation trust level for the years requested. These are the combined completion rates for sex offender treatment programmes, domestic violence programmes and other offending behaviour programmes.
	The direct cost to NOMS of accredited programmes run in 2011-12 is shown in the table. This is the first year for which sufficiently robust data are available. These costs reflect differing types and volumes of programmes for each Trust.
	The figures used in the answer have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Table 1: Accredited programme completion rates by probation trust 2009-10 and 2010-11 
			  2009-10 2010-11 
			 Probation trust Commenced Completed Percentage Commenced Completed Percentage 
			 Avon and Somerset 507 369 73 457 336 74 
		
	
	
		
			 Bedfordshire 272 192 71 255 181 71 
			 Cambridgeshire 287 210 73 262 197 75 
			 Cheshire 806 520 65 590 385 65 
			 Cumbria 238 161 68 240 155 65 
			 Derbyshire 461 335 73 465 335 72 
			 Devon and Cornwall 718 493 69 517 344 67 
			 Dorset 297 213 72 273 189 69 
			 Durham Tees Valley 673 500 74 660 488 74 
			 Essex 950 641 67 819 585 71 
			 Gloucestershire 242 174 72 226 172 76 
			 Greater Manchester 3,017 1,889 63 1,491 871 58 
			 Hampshire 779 606 78 685 528 77 
			 Hertfordshire 481 346 72 452 326 72 
			 Humberside 349 268 77 412 291 71 
			 Kent 577 420 73 423 314 74 
			 Lancashire 795 564 71 767 536 70 
			 Leicestershire 517 399 77 546 390 71 
			 Lincolnshire 323 237 73 271 193 71 
			 London 3,011 2,233 74 2,881 2,106 73 
			 Merseyside 1,078 647 60 1,001 697 70 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 743 554 75 653 516 79 
			 North Yorkshire 424 272 64 346 239 69 
			 Northamptonshire 316 191 60 295 189 64 
			 Northumbria 796 557 70 1,001 711 71 
			 Nottinghamshire 648 465 72 593 419 71 
			 South Yorkshire 935 616 66 803 492 61 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 2,543 1,674 66 2,194 1,461 67 
			 Surrey and Sussex 778 573 74 713 542 76 
			 Thames Valley 742 554 75 738 531 72 
			 Wales 1,844 1,147 62 1,555 968 62 
			 Warwickshire 198 132 67 183 121 66 
			 West Mercia 509 335 66 502 346 69 
			 West Yorkshire 1,301 821 63 1,012 680 67 
			 Wiltshire 232 159 69 185 144 78 
			 England and Wales total 28,387 19,467 69 24,466 16,978 69 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Direct costs to NOMS of probation accredited programmes 2011-12 
			 Probation trust Direct cost (£ million) 
			 Avon and Somerset 1.1 
			 Bedfordshire 0.4 
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 0.8 
			 Cheshire 0.8 
			 Cumbria 0.4 
			 Derbyshire 0.9 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1.0 
			 Dorset 0.5 
			 Durham Tees Valley 0.8 
			 Essex 1.5 
			 Gloucestershire 0.5 
			 Greater Manchester 2.7 
			 Hampshire 1.4 
			 Hertfordshire 0.8 
			 Humberside 0.7 
			 Kent 0.7 
			 Lancashire 1.6 
			 Leicestershire and Rutland 0.7 
			 Lincolnshire 0.5 
			 London 4.5 
			 Merseyside 1.7 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 1.6 
			 Northamptonshire 0.5 
			 Northumbria 1.6 
			 Nottinghamshire 1.0 
			 South Yorkshire 1.1 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 3.6 
			 Surrey and Sussex 0.9 
			 Thames Valley 1.0 
			 Wales 3.4 
			 Warwickshire 0.5 
			 West Mercia 1.8 
			 West Yorkshire 1.9 
			 Wiltshire 0.5 
			 York and North Yorkshire 0.6

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’, whether probation trusts will be excluded from bidding to run services under his plans for the Probation Service.

Jeremy Wright: We remain committed to facilitating an open competition which allows a range of bidders to take part in the new probation services market.
	As set out in our consultation document ‘Transforming Rehabilitation—a revolution in the way we manage offenders’, it remains open for probation staff to put together proposals for potential mutuals and other alternative delivery vehicles to bid to deliver probation services as part of future competitions.
	These employee-led entities or partnerships will only be formally set up following the conclusion of the competition, if they have won a bid or are part of a winning bid. This is to guarantee continuity of service in probation during the transition to new arrangements, and also to ensure that those public sector probation professionals who do come together to enter the bidding process are not disadvantaged if they are not successful.
	Under our proposals we will only contract with entities capable of bearing the financial and operational risks associated with Payment by Results and delivering offender services in the community. Therefore, public sector entities will not be able to bid, as they will not be able to carry the financial risk. Instead staff groups within trusts can work on proposals for alternative delivery vehicles and mutuals. The Cabinet Office's Mutual Support Programme is available to support probation staff to explore their options.
	The Ministry of Justice's consultation on plans for reforming the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community closed on 22 February. We will respond to the consultation and bring forward detailed plans in due course.

Recruitment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials were recruited to (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The number of officials recruited into the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice Headquarters, National Offender Management Service, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and Office of the Public Guardian) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Numbers of officials recruited to the Ministry of Justice (including officials transferred from other Government Departments and non-departmental public bodies) 
			  Ministry of Justice (Department and Agencies) 
			 2007-08 8,095 
			 2008-09 8,254 
			 2009-10 4,136 
			 2010-11 3,769 
			 2011-12 2,085 
		
	
	This information is not centrally held for non-departmental public bodies. This information has been requested from the Department's non-departmental public bodies and when available will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Reoffenders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what further offences were committed by offenders released on licence between 1997 and 2012 and classed as low risk during their licence period;
	(2)  what further offences were committed by offenders released on licence between 1997 and 2012 and classed as medium risk during their licence period.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice produces proven reoffending data for adult offenders released from prison on licence, by probation trust. However, these statistics only count offences committed over a one year follow-up period and cannot be broken down further by low and medium risk offenders.

Termination of Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have left that body due to (i) resignation, (ii) retirement, (iii) redundancy, (iv) transferral to another public sector post and (v) another reason in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The number of officials who have left the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice Headquarters, National Offender Management Service, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian) along with their reason for leaving, is in the following table.
	'Other' reasons for officials leaving include the conclusion of fixed term contracts, dismissals, voluntary exits and transfers to non-public sector organisations.
	This information is not centrally held for non-departmental public bodies. This information has been requested from the Department's non-departmental public bodies and when available will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
	
		
			 Ministry of Justice (Department and Agencies) 
			 Reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 (i) Resignation 3,765 3,424 2,192 1,987 1,838 
			 (ii) Retirement 1,356 1,412 1,955 2,217 1,297 
			 (iii) Redundancy 3 32 1 1 6 
			 (iv) Transfer to other Government Departments 313 265 280 151 265 
			 (v) Other 2,004 2,332 1,742 1,444 3,244 
			 Total 7,441 7,465 6,170 5,800 6,650

Victim Support Schemes

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what meetings (a) he has and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with other organisations on the new Victims Code since September 2012.

Helen Grant: I have held two meetings with external organisations about the Victims Code since September 2012: a roundtable meeting on 30 January 2013 with victims groups and stakeholders to canvass views on the revised code, and a roundtable meeting on 13 February 2013 with criminal justice agencies and advocacy organisations to consider how the system supports victims of sexual violence, and what role the Victims Code can play in that support.
	As Victims Minister I meet regularly with victims groups and other stakeholders. I have discussed the Victims Code with these groups, alongside a range of other issues, since September 2012. I will be launching a public consultation on a revised Victims Code shortly and I intend to engage with stakeholders further during the consultation period.

Young Offenders

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy that probation trusts extend youth offending support to 18 to 20-year-old offenders.

Jeremy Wright: Youth Offending Teams are tailored specifically to meet the needs of younger offenders.
	We are committed to opening up rehabilitative services to a range of new providers, who will be paid by results to help offenders turn their lives around. Under these proposals, 18 to 20-year-old offenders will have a package of rehabilitation support in the community which addresses their particular needs as they transition to adulthood.
	As a part of this we expect to see more use of innovative approaches, such as mentoring, and for offenders to receive targeted support to tackle the root causes of offending.
	The Ministry of Justice's consultation on plans for reforming the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community closed on 22 February. We will respond to the consultation and bring forward detailed plans in due course.

Young Offenders: Sentencing

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many children of each ethnicity were given a prison sentence for breach of a community sentence in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011;
	(2)  how many children of each age, were given a prison sentence for breach of a community sentence in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Jeremy Wright: Tables 1 and 2 show the number of episodes of custody started, broken down by ethnicity and age, for young people aged under 18 years and imposed for a breach of a community sentence in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.
	The Youth Justice Board does not count the number of individual young people starting custody, but does count the number of individual episodes. An episode refers to a period a young person has spent in custody and it is possible that one young person can start more than one custodial episode at different points of each year for different offences or for a change in the legal basis for detention, such as when a young person previously remanded is sentenced to custody. The data include those sentenced to custody for breaching the community part of a detention and training order and for breach of an antisocial behaviour order.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of episodes of custody started for young people under 18 years and imposed for a breach of community sentence, by ethnicity and year 
			 Ethnicity 2009 2010 2011 
			 Asian 25 33 36 
			 Black 58 54 64 
			 Mixed 62 36 39 
			 Other 0 0 0 
			 White 654 663 567 
			 Not Known 29 24 47 
			 Total 828 810 753 
			 Source: Youth Justice Board's Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS). 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of episodes of custody started for young people under 18 years and imposed for a breach of community sentence by age and year 
			 Age 2009 2010 2011 
			 10 0 0 0 
			 11 0 0 0 
			 12 5 3 4 
			 13 20 10 8 
			 14 61 66 60 
			 15 161 141 116 
			 16 211 238 233 
			 17 370 352 332 
			 Total 828 810 753 
			 Source: Youth Justice Board's Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS).

TRANSPORT

Driving: Eyesight

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of road traffic accidents each year which involve drivers whose eyesight is below the minimum distance eyesight requirement to read a vehicle number plate.

Stephen Hammond: The following table gives the number of accidents for which the police officer recorded “uncorrected, defective eyesight” as a contributory factor in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Number of accidents 
			 2007 207 
			 2008 225 
			 2009 191 
			 2010 234 
			 2011 250

Freight

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what research his Department has conducted on the effectiveness of current technology to jam Global System for Mobile Communications triggers in freight vehicles;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the availability of technology for the detection of Global System for Mobile Communications triggers in freight containers.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has not conducted any assessment or research that meets these descriptions.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether he plans to meet or take advice from High Speed 2 Action Alliance members before reissuing the compensation consultation on High Speed 2;
	(2)  how many (a) officials of his Department and (b) employees of High Speed 2 Limited at each grade are working on the re-run of the consultation on compensation for people adversely affected by High Speed 2.

Simon Burns: We are still considering the implications of the recent judgment on our proposals for discretionary compensation.

Litter

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the litter code of practice specifies response times for each grade of litter.

Stephen Hammond: The code of practice on litter and refuse does not give specific response times by grade of litter other than where acceptable standards have not been met. Part 1, section 9 sets down that,
	“As a last resort, if acceptable standards of litter and refuse are not met, response times have been set for each of the four categories by which land must be returned to an acceptable standard.”
	The times that have been set are:
	
		
			 High intensity of use Medium intensity of use Low intensity of use Special circumstances 
			 Half a day This means by 6 pm if reported before 1 pm or by 1 pm the next duty day if reported between 1 pm and 6 pm on the previous day One day This means by 6 pm the following evening 14 days 28 days or as soon as reasonably practicable

Litter

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the response times set for each category of land in the litter code are only to be applied as a last resort if acceptable standards are not met.

Stephen Hammond: The response times set for each category of land in the code of practice on litter and refuse are to be used as a last resort if acceptable standards are not met. These standards and response times are applied under the Highways Agency's maintenance contracts.

Railways: Concessions

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many senior citizen railcards have been issued in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The Department does not hold this information, as the sale of senior railcards is a matter for the train operators. However, the Association of Train Operating Companies recently advised that over one million senior railcards were sold in 2012.

Shrewsbury-Crewe Railway Line

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for the time taken to implement the Crewe to Shrewsbury modular signalling scheme; and when he now expects the scheme to be completed.

Simon Burns: As explained in my previous answers of 14 March 2013, Official Report, columns 285-86W, this scheme is an operational matter for Network Rail and any questions should be directed to the chief executive at the following address:
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London
	N1 9AG.

Sunderland Port

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much inter-modal freight was handled at the Port of Sunderland in each of the last five years; what his most recent estimate was of inter-modal freight capacity at the port; and when that estimate was made.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold information on the movement of freight containers or vehicles using multiple modes of transportation.
	The Port of Sunderland is a municipal port. Further information on their facilities can be found at:
	http://www.portofsunderland.org.uk/

Transport: North West

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 492W, on regional and local transport, which projects in the north west have received funding from his Department; and how much each such project has received.

Norman Baker: Government block grant funding to local authorities for integrated transport and highways maintenance is not ring fenced, and there is no requirement on local authorities to report on the individual projects these grants are used for. Therefore a complete picture is not available.
	Details of funding provided for specific local authority major schemes to local authorities in the north west can be provided, as follows:
	Of the programme of local authority major schemes approved by this Government, two schemes have been fully approved and are now receiving funding:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Scheme Total cost DFT funding 
			 Rochdale Interchange 11.5 7.0 
			 Manchester Cross City Bus 43.2 2.5 
		
	
	Other schemes in the north west which were already under construction at the last election, and on which this Government have continued to provide funding, are as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Scheme Total cost DFT funding 
			 A34 Alderley Edge Bypass 61.9 48.2 
			 Hall Lane (Liverpool) 16.8 15.3 
			 GM Urban Traffic Control 13.5 13.5 
			 Blackpool Tram Upgrade 100.3 66.9 
		
	
	
		
			 GM Highway Retaining Walls 45.3 40.5 
			 Edge Lane (Liverpool) 20.0 18.8 
			 Metrolink Extensions 744.0 396.4 
		
	
	The local authorities major schemes budget has also contributed some funding to the Highways Agency maintenance scheme at Bidston Moss Viaduct, Wirral.
	Funding being provided to north west local authorities for Local Sustainable Transport Fund projects over the period 2011 to 2015 is as follows:
	
		
			 Local authority LSTF project Funding (£ million) 
			 Blackburn with Darwen BwD CONNECT Project 1.452 
			 Cheshire East Growing Smarter Travel Choices in Crewe 3.509 
			 Cheshire West & Chester Connect to Jobs 4.578 
			 Cumbria Lake District Sustainable Visitor Transport Beacon Area 4.890 
			 Lancashire Targeting Key Growth Corridors 5.000 
			 Merseyside ITA Supporting Sustainable Access to Opportunity in Merseyside 24.867 
			 Sefton Sefton & West Lancashire Visitor Economy Project 1.550

CABINET OFFICE

Charities

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Government are taking to strengthen the charitable sector.

Nick Hurd: Although we recognise that these are tough times for the charitable sector, the Government are taking a range of steps to strengthen the sector. These include the £600 million Big Society Capital and the £20 million Investment and Contract Readiness Fund. We are also helping, ambitious voluntary and community organisations to access the capital they need to expand their services. Our £10 million Innovation in Giving Fund provides funding to support ideas that have the potential to create a step change in giving and the £20 million Social Action Fund supports the development of proven models of social action. Following Lord Hodgson's report Unshackling Good Neighbours we are addressing the burden of regulation that hampers charities and the recently announced Charitable Incorporated Organisation will introduce a new simple legal structure designed solely for charities.

Electronic Government

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of the Government Digital Service (GDS); what discussions he has had with external organisations and individuals on the GDS in the last 12 months; and what steps he has taken to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the GDS.

Nick Hurd: Today 82% of adults in the UK are online and more and more of us are going online for shopping, banking, information and entertainment. But at the time of the last general election, government use of digital public services lagged far behind that of the private sector, despite the vast amounts of money poured into government technology.
	This Government were determined to do better and set up the Government Digital Service in 2011, with the aim of transforming government services so they are digital by default and focused on user need,
	In April 2012, we set up a Digital Advisory Board to support government deliver its commitment to provide high-quality public services online by default. Its role is to work with the Government Digital Service (GDS) and challenge Government to deliver better services for users.
	GDS has also published the Government's Digital Strategy and Digital Efficiency Report. The strategy sets out how Government will redesign their digital services to make them straightforward and convenient so that all those who can use them prefer to do so. During the financial year 2012-13 GDS has saved at least £36 million by closing Directgov and BusinessLink and bringing Government services and information together under a single domain GOV.UK. Further estimated annual savings of at least £50 million are expected from the migration of departmental websites to GOV.UK. And in the first six months of this fiscal year GDS has enabled cross Government savings of at least £400 million by helping Government become a commissioner of IT instead of a buyer of IT. All of these changes could have been made by the last Administration.
	In line with the practice of previous Administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed. External meetings by ministers and senior officials are disclosed here:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-external-organisations

Engineering

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England were employed in the industrial engineering sector in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England are employed in the industrial engineering sector in the latest period for which figures are available. (149397)
	Annual employment statistics are available from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). Table 1 contains the latest figures available, which show the number in employment in 2011 for industries considered to be in the industrial engineering sector.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Employment in Barnsley Central constituency, South Yorkshire and England in the industrial engineering sector in 2011 
			 Industry (SIC 2007) Barnsley Central constituency South Yorkshire England 
			 Total 1,800 31,400 940,500 
			 Notes: 1. South Yorkshire refers to the former metropolitan county of South Yorkshire. 2. The following industries have been considered to be part of the industrial engineering sector: Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products; Manufacture of basic metals; Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment; Manufacture of electrical equipment; Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c; Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers; Manufacture of other transport equipment; Repair and installation of machinery and equipment.

Estate Agents

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England were employed in the real estate sector in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England are employed in the real estate sector in the most recent period for which figures are available. (149396)
	Annual employment statistics are available from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). Table 1 following contains the latest figures available, which show the number in employment in 2011 for the real estate sector.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Employment in Barnsley Central constituency, South Yorkshire and England for real estate activities in 2011 
			 Industry (SIC 2007) Barnsley Central constituency South Yorkshire England 
			 L: Real estate activities 700 7,300 408,100 
			 Note: South Yorkshire refers to the former metropolitan county of South Yorkshire.

Government Departments: Location

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2013, Official Report, column 253W, on Government Departments: locations, which vanity properties were referred to in the original answer.

Chloe Smith: This Government have exited several costly leases within central London which were entered into under the previous Government. In total this Government have saved the taxpayer a staggering £1 billion since the General Election by selling, exiting and getting out of unnecessary properties, leases and land. It would have been entirely possible for this to have happened under the previous Government.
	This Government do not believe that taxpayers should foot the bill for unnecessary properties. That is why in February 2013 the Department for International Development exited its leasehold address at 1 Palace Street. Though the building was undeniably impressive, the lease was expensive and unnecessary given the under-occupation of various properties in the area which the Government own outright. Exiting the lease has saved the taxpayer £62.5 million.

Government Departments: Location

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2013, Official Report, column 253W, on Government Departments: locations, whether he has made an assessment of the potential benefits in (a) cost savings, (b) economic growth or (c) regeneration of moving staff of Government departments out of London to the regions.

Chloe Smith: There have been numerous studies on the benefits of relocation, both by the previous Conservative Government and the Government of which the hon. Lady was a Member. We recognise that the number of civil servants in central London is higher than it needs to be. Relocation of staff out of expensive London offices to other regions continues to be high on the agenda, as an option to deliver the savings needed. However, the final location of posts in a Department is decided by its business and operational requirements.
	The Government Property Unit, in the Cabinet Office, is managing a programme of estate rationalisation across central London in order to reduce the cost of offices and to make savings for the UK taxpayer. The Government's strategy is to consolidate its operations into freehold and PFI space where that is practical and cost-effective to do so. This has already resulted in the reduction of the Central Civil Estate in London by just over 432,900 sq m, or around 20% in the period from 1 May 2010 to 1 March 2013.

Internet

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2013, Official Report, column 820W, on internet, what assessment he has made of the performance on his Department's work with (a) Go-ON:UK and (b) the eAccessibility Forum.

Nick Hurd: The focus of the Government Digital Strategy is in making services digital by default. The Government Digital Service (GDS) continues to work closely with Go ON UK and with the eAccessibilty Forum to ensure that appropriate assisted digital support is in place for people who are not online or who have limited digital skills. The Department is satisfied with the work undertaken to date.

Job Creation: Private Sector

Russell Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of jobs created in the private sector since May 2010 are (a) located in each area of the UK and (b) in each industrial sector; and how many are (i) in excess of 35 hours per week, (ii) between 20 and 35 hours per week, (iii) between 10 and 20 hours per week, (iv) up to 10 hours a week and (v) have no contracted hours.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 19 March 2013
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked how many and what proportion of jobs created in the private sector since May 2010 are (a) located in each area of the UK and (b) in each industrial sector; and how many are in (i) in excess of 35 hours per week, (ii) between 20 and 35 hours per week, (iii) between 10 and 20 hours per week, (iv) up to 10 hours a week and (v) have no contracted hours (148969).
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles labour market statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS), following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. Estimates of the number of zero hour contracts are not available from this source.
	Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. In the APS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The private sector estimates provided do not correspond to official estimates of the split between public and private sector employment which are based on a National Accounts' definition and are not available for areas smaller than regions.
	Estimates of the number of jobs created in the private sector are not available from the APS. As an alternative we have provided the net change in the number of people employed in the private sector, according to responses to the APS, between the 12 month period ending June 2010, the period closest to May 2010, and the 12 month period ending September 2012, the latest available period. Along with the number of people employed in the two periods.
	Since the estimates are net changes in the number of people employed in the private sector, which are a mixture of increases and decreases, a measurement of a proportion of the total net change is not appropriate.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	A copy of the table will be placed in the Library of the House.

Job Creation: Private Sector

Russell Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of jobs created in the private sector since May 2010 are (a) agency jobs and (b) paid at the minimum wage.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 19 March 2013
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of jobs created in the private sector since May 2010 are (a) agency jobs and (b) paid at the minimum wage. (148970)
	Information regarding jobs created is not available. As an alternative, estimates of the number of people in employment in the private sector are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). This includes an estimate of the number of temporary employees who report that they work for an employment agency.
	Sufficiently reliable estimates of the number of people in the private sector who are paid at the level of the minimum wage are not available from the LFS or any other source of official labour market statistics.
	The table provided contains the available private sector employment statistics for the three-month period January to March 2010 onwards. In the LFS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The estimates do not correspond directly to the official statistics for private sector employment published in the monthly Labour Market Statistical Bulletin. Those statistics, which are derived partly from employers and are based on National Accounts definitions, do not provide for an estimate of agency workers.
	In the table, the change over the last two years is shown along with the change between April to June 2010 and April to June 2012. The estimates are not seasonally adjusted so changes between individual quarters needs to be interpreted carefully.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. These are indicated in the table.
	
		
			 Private sector employment, quarterly, 2010 to 2012, United Kingdom 
			 (thousands) not seasonally adjusted 
			  Private Sector Employment(1) 
			  Total Temporary employees(2) working for an employment agency 
			 2010   
			 January to March 21,341 168 
			 April to June 21,440 200 
			 July to September 21,828 208 
			 October to December 21,781 214 
			    
			 2011   
			 January to March 21,688 205 
			 April to June 21,870 200 
			 July to September 22,068 204 
			 October to December 22,132 213 
			    
			 2012   
			 January to March 22,077 189 
			 April to June 22,394 206 
			 July to September 22,608 210 
			 October to December 22,623 233 
			    
			 Change April to June 2010 to April to June 2012 954 7 
			 Change October to December 2010 to October to December 2012 842 19 
			 1 Individuals in the LFS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses regarding the organisation for which they work. 2 All those who report that their job was not permanent in some way. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) * 0 ≤ CV< 5 ** 5 ≤ CV < 10 *** 10 ≤ CV < 20 **** CV ≥ 20 Source: Labour Force Survey

Manufacturing Industries

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England are employed in the (i) technology, hardware and equipment and (ii) industrial transportation sectors.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England are employed in the (i) technology, hardware and equipment and (ii) industrial transportation sectors. (149940)
	Annual employment statistics are available from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). Table 1 as follows contains the latest figures, available, which show the number in employment in 2011 for industries considered to be in the technology, hardware and equipment sector. Table 2 as follows shows the number in employment in 2011 for industries considered to be in the industrial transportation sector.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Employment in Barnsley Central constituency, South Yorkshire and England for the technology, hardware and equipment sector in 2011 
			 Industry Barnsley Central constituency South Yorkshire England 
			 Technology, hardware and equipment 200 2,800 253,200 
			 Notes: 1. South Yorkshire refers to the former metropolitan county of South Yorkshire. 2. The following industries have been considered to be part of the technology, hardware and equipment sector. Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products; Wholesale of information and communication equipment; Retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores; Repair of computers and communication equipment. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Employment in Barnsley Central constituency, South Yorkshire and England for the industrial transportation sector in 2011 
			 Industry Barnsley Central constituency South Yorkshire England 
			 Industrial transportation 400 5,800 214,200 
			 Notes: 1. South Yorkshire refers to the former metropolitan county of South Yorkshire. 2. The following industries have been considered to be part of the industrial transportation sector: Freight rail transport; Freight transport by road and removal services; Transport via pipeline; Sea and coastal freight water transport; Inland freight water transport; Freight air transport and space transport.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to engage with Ministers from the devolved Administrations as part of his review of the cost-effectiveness of non-departmental public bodies for the purpose of developing a common approach to that matter.

Nick Hurd: There continues to be close cooperation with the devolved administrations in delivering the Public Bodies Reform Programme. For reforms taken forward by the Public Bodies Act, the Act clearly states when the explicit consent of the devolved legislatures is required, and when Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be consulted. Cabinet Office guidance also emphasises the importance of engaging with the devolved Administrations during policy development. Similarly, for the ongoing programme of triennial reviews of non-departmental public bodies, we are engaging with devolved Administrations for those bodies whose remit extends to the devolved Administrations.

Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much was paid to officials in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies in bonuses and other payments in addition to salary in each of the last five years; how many officials received such payments; and what the monetary value was of the 20 largest payments made in each year.

Francis Maude: The following table sets out how much was paid to officials in my Department and its non-departmental public bodies in non-consolidated bonuses in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  Monetary Value (£) Number of Awards 
			 2012-13 1,847,770 1,014 
			 2011-12 1,730,410 831 
			 2010-11 1,856,242 912 
			 2009-10 2,264,417 1,091 
			 2008-09 1,745,118 745 
		
	
	My answer of 18 January 2012, Official Report, column 878W, set out the values of the top 20 payments for previous years. In 2012-13 my Department made two payments of £15,000, 14 of £12,500 and four of £10,000.

Prostate Cancer

Clive Efford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many men in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area in England were diagnosed with (i) prostatitis or benign prostatic hyperplasia and (ii) prostate cancer in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many men in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area in England were diagnosed with (i) prostatitis or benign prostatic hyperplasia and (ii) prostate cancer in each of the last five years.
	The Office for National Statistics maintains the national cancer registry for England. Cancer registration is carried out by eight regional registries that collect information on cancers registered to residents of their areas. These cancer registrations are subsequently submitted to ONS as a standard dataset. For the purposes of the national cancer registration scheme the term “cancer” includes all malignant neoplasms (tumours that invade into surrounding tissues), which are conditions listed under site code numbers C00 to C97 of the Tenth Revision of the international Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. In addition, all in situ neoplasms (D00-D09), certain benign neoplasms (D32-D33, D35.2-D35.4) and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behaviour (D37-D48) are registered.
	Information on prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia is not available. Prostatitis is a general term that refers to inflammation or infection of the prostate gland. Hyperplasia of the prostate is classified as disease of the genitourinary system and not as a neoplasm.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2010.
	Table 1 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer in men in each parliamentary constituency in England, for each of the years 2006 to 2010. Table 2 provides the number of newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer in local authorities in England, again for each of the years 2006 to 2010.
	Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, because a man may be diagnosed with more than one primary prostate cancer over time, although this is rare.
	Copies of Tables 1 and 2 have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The latest published figures on cancer incidence in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html

Public Sector: Mutual Societies

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will introduce legislative proposals to fully and permanently exempt parent bodies from having to open up to competitive tender the services they are commissioning from a spun-out public service mutual.

Chloe Smith: Public sector procurement is governed by EU directives, particularly Directive 2004/18/EC, as implemented in UK regulations. Proposals for revisions to this directive are currently being negotiated in the EU and the Government are pursuing amendments to ensure more flexibility for employee-led organisations such as mutuals.

Social Class

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in the number of people in each socio-economic group from A to E since 1 January 2009.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, i have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in the number of people in each socio-economic group from A to E since 1 January 2009. (149006)
	For official statistics in the UK, socio-economic groups are usually defined according to the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC). This classification has replaced measures such as Social Class based on Occupation (formerly Registrar General's Social Class) and Socio-economic Groups. The NS-SEC, although similar in nature, is not directly comparable with these previous classifications.
	The NS-SEC is based on people's occupation but has rules to provide coverage of everyone aged 16 and over. An individual's occupation is coded to a unit group within the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and then combined with details of their employment status: whether an employer, self-employed or employee; whether a supervisor; and the number of employees at the workplace. For people not in work but who have worked before and who have not been unemployed for more than a year, the details relating to their last job are used.
	The table provided contains Labour Force Survey (LFS) based estimates for nine classes of the NS-SEC for the October to December three-month periods from 2008 to 2012. In 2010 the SOC underwent significant changes as part of a regular review and the new classification, known as SOC 2010, was introduced into the LFS in January 2011. Consequently the estimates of the number of people in each category of the NS-SEC from 2011 onwards are not comparable with those before 2011. Therefore the changes in each category since January 2009 are not reliable indicators of the true changes.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the. LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			 People aged 16 and over by National Statistics Socio-economic Classification October to December, 2008 to 2012: United Kingdom not seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousand 
			 National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC)(1) 
			  All Higher managerial and professional Lower managerial and professional Intermediate occupations Small employers and own account workers 
			 2008 49,221 4,731 9,339 4,107 3,427 
			 2009 49,573 4,861 9,470 4,067 3,430 
			 2010 49,956 4,972 9,393 4,082 3,525 
			 2011(4) 50,320 4,967 9,213 5,116 3,519 
			 2012 50,686 5,109 9,696 5,004 3,579 
		
	
	
		
			 Thousand 
			 National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC)(1) 
			  Lower supervisory and technical Semi-routine occupations Routine occupations Never worked or long-term unemployed(2) Not classified or full-time student(3) 
			 2008 3,501 5,581 4,046 2,042 12,446 
			 2009 3,466 5,441 3,949 2,104 12,785 
			 2010 3,396 5,676 3,903 2,388 12,622 
			 2011(4) 2,863 5,268 4,121 2,320 12,931 
			 2012 2,846 5,442 3,982 2,264 12,764 
			 (1) Based upon current occupation and employment situation. Previous occupation and employment status is used, where available, for economically inactive or persons unemployed for less than a year. (2) Those who have never worked plus those who have worked in the past but have been unemployed for a year or more. (3) Includes people who did not state their occupation, those retired over the age of 74, and all full-time students (including full-time students in paid employment). (4) In 2011 the occupation classification used in the Labour Force Survey changed from SOC 2000 to SOC 2010. The NS-SEC classification is partly derived from SOC and consequently there are inconsistencies with estimates before 2011. Therefore like-for-like companions cannot be made between years before and after the change. Source: Labour Force Survey

Tobacco: Industry

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England were employed in the tobacco sector in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England are employed in the tobacco sector in the latest period for which figures are available. (149398)
	Annual employment statistics are available from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). Table 1 following contains the latest figures available, which show the number in employment in 2011 for industries considered to be in the tobacco sector.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Employment in Barnsley Central constituency, South Yorkshire and England for tobacco sector in 2011 
			 Industry (SIC 2007) Barnsley Central constituency South Yorkshire England 
			 47260: Retail sale of tobacco products in specialised stores 0 200 6,700 
			 46350: Wholesale of tobacco products 0 0 1,100 
			 12: Manufacture of tobacco products 0 * 1,800 
			 Notes: 1. Cells containing an asterisk ‘*’ represent disclosive data that cannot be published. 2. South Yorkshire refers to the former metropolitan county of South Yorkshire.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Members: Moving Costs

Helen Jones: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the total amount spent by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to cover hon. Members' removal costs has been in each financial year since 2010.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated 22 March 2013
	As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for figures relating to claims made by Members of Parliament for removal costs.
	The figures requested are presented below.
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
			 2010-11 18,215.56 
			 2011-12 9,799.32 
			 2012-13( )(to date) 13,620.22

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Malaria

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what campaigns her Department are running to increase awareness about malaria in developing countries.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government is committed to help halve malaria deaths in at least 10 high burden countries between 2010 and 2015, and to sustain these gains into the future. The Department for International Development works directly on strengthening health systems and supporting national malaria programmes in 17 high burden countries, and through our support to multi-lateral organisations in all countries with malaria.
	UK-supported programmes include preventing malaria transmission through bed-nets and indoor residual spraying, testing and diagnosing malaria, and treating malaria with safe, effective and affordable medicines. Many of these programmes have associated activities which help educate the general population and increase awareness about malaria and its proper prevention and treatment. Increased awareness makes the malaria programmes more effective and helps save more lives.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) anti-malarial drugs and (b) mosquito nets reach the most at-risk groups in countries that receive support from her Department.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government are committed to help halve malaria deaths in at least 10 high burden countries between 2010 and 2015, and to sustain these gains into the future. Amongst other interventions the Department for International Development (DFID) directly supports the Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria (AMFm). The majority of those in the most-at-risk groups, including the poor, access their anti-malarial treatment from the private sector. AMFm responds to this by ensuring that high-quality, effective anti-malarial drugs in the private sector are subsidised to make them affordable to these most-at-risk groups.
	DFID's support to mosquito net programmes fully takes the most-at-risk groups into account. For example DFID's programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo takes steps to ensure mosquito nets are delivered free of charge to poor populations, and covers the costs of transport to homes in the most remote and inaccessible parts of the country.

FairTrade Initiative

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of refreshments purchased by her Department are FairTrade certified.

Alan Duncan: All tea and coffee purchased by the Department for hospitality purposes is FairTrade certified.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Asbestos: Public Buildings

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of public buildings that contain asbestos.

Mark Hoban: The Health and Safety Executive does not hold records of the number of buildings that contain asbestos. When the impact assessment for the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 was prepared, it was estimated that approximately 500,000 commercial and public buildings contained asbestos.

Crisis Loans: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total value was of crisis loans awarded in each local authority in Nottinghamshire in each year since 2009; and how many applications were accepted for a crisis loan in each such area in each such year.

Steve Webb: Tables 1-3 below give crisis loan applications, awards and expenditure in the local authorities in Nottinghamshire in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 respectively.
	
		
			 Table 1: Crisis loan applications, awards and expenditure by Nottinghamshire local authorities in 2009-10 
			  Applications Awards Expenditure (£) 
			 Ashfield 4,200 3,180 294,500 
			 Bassetlaw 4,290 3,230 263,400 
			 Broxtowe 2,600 2,000 184,600 
			 Gedling 3,310 2,550 232,400 
			 Mansfield 5,520 4,140 344,700 
			 Newark and Sherwood 3,220 2,490 207,700 
			 Rushcliffe 1,460 1,160 100,700 
			 Nottinghamshire 24,610 18,760 1,627,900 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Crisis loan applications, awards and expenditure by Nottinghamshire local authorities in 2010-11 
			  Applications Awards Expenditure (£) 
			 Ashfield 4,490 3,530 319,900 
			 Bassetlaw 4,500 3,510 295,300 
			 Broxtowe 2,760 2,220 190,200 
			 Gedling 3,460 2,750 230,900 
			 Mansfield 6,040 4,750 385,300 
			 Newark and Sherwood 3,360 2,710 203,200 
			 Rushcliffe 1,640 1,330 118,200 
			 Nottinghamshire 26,250 20,810 1,742,900 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Crisis loan applications, awards and expenditure by Nottinghamshire local authorities in 2011-12 
			  Applications Awards Expenditure (£) 
			 Ashfield 3,660 2,960 193,200 
			 Bassetlaw 3,260 2,600 161,700 
			 Broxtowe 2,170 1,760 109,100 
			 Gedling 2,510 2,030 127,000 
			 Mansfield 4,750 3,860 244,700 
			 Newark and Sherwood 2,520 2,100 132,500 
			 Rushcliffe 1,330 1,090 64,300 
			 Nottinghamshire 20,190 16,400 1,032,600 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official / National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics and there are some issues with the data; for example, they do not include applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 2. Local authority figures have been produced by linking Social Fund Computer System data with the National Benefits Database to obtain the local authority the person lived in at the time of application. There are up to 7% of cases where we cannot link the records in this way. 3. All applications and awards figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Expenditure is rounded to the nearest £100.

Disability Living Allowance

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people have a fixed-term award of disability living allowance which is due to expire after February 2014; and how many such people he expects to invite to apply for the personal independence payment for the year October 2013 to October 2014.

Esther McVey: The number of disability living allowance recipients who have a fixed term award due to expire after February 2014 is 895,000, of which there will be 550,000 who were aged 16-64 on 8 April 2013. We expect to invite 219,000 of these working age claimants to apply for personal independence payment between October 2013 and September 2014.
	Source:
	DWP Quarterly Statistical Enquiry data, May 2012.

Disability Living Allowance: Young People

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young disabled people who are in receipt of disability living allowance are expected to be invited to be assessed for personal independence payment in the next 12 months as they reach the age of 16.

Esther McVey: DLA claimants reaching age 16 from 7 October 2013 onwards will be invited to claim PIP on reaching their 16th birthday. Those who have reached age 16 between April 2013 and October 2013 will be invited to claim PIP at a later date according to the published reassessment strategy
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf
	During any 12 month period around 34,000 DLA claimants reach age 16. This is the number of people who we would expect to invite to claim PIP on their 16th birthday between October 2013 and September 2014.
	Source:
	DWP Longitudinal Study May 2012.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employees (a) of his Department, (b) in each of his Department's benefit delivery centres and (c) in each jobcentre are decision makers for employment and support allowance.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 18 March 2013
	The information is as follows:
	(a) As at January 2013 there were 125 full-time equivalent staff performing decision making activities on employment and support allowance.
	(b) ESA decision making activities broken down by benefit delivery centre are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Benefits Directorate 125 
			 BCCE Bury St Edmunds BC 1 
			 BCCE Derby BC 2 
			 BCCE Handsworth BC 2 
			 BCCE Hanley BC 4 
			 BCCE Leicester BC 2 
			 BCCE Nottingham BC 2 
			 BCCE Peterborough BC 3 
			 BCCE Ravenhurst BC 1 
		
	
	
		
			 BCCE Walsall BC 2 
			 BCCE Wellingborough BC 1 
			 BCCE Wolverhampton BC 5 
			 BCCE Worcester BC 1 
			 BCLH Basildon BC 5 
			 BCLH Canterbury BC 1 
			 BCLH Hackney BC 1 
			 BCLH Stratford BC 2 
			 BCNE Barnsley BC 7 
			 BCNE Hull BC 5 
			 BCNE Leeds BC 2 
			 BCNE Newcastle BC 3 
			 BCNE Stockton BC 5 
			 BCNE Sunderland BC 4 
			 BCNW Birkenhead BC 4 
			 BCNW Bolton BC 9 
			 BCNW Oldham BC 2 
			 BCNW Preston BC 3 
			 BCSC Aberdeen BC 3 
			 BCSC Bathgate BC 4 
			 BCSC Clydebank BC 2 
			 BCSC Coatbridge BC 2 
			 BCSC Glasgow Northgate BC 7 
			 BCSC Greenock BC 2 
			 BCSC Kilmarnock BC 1 
			 BCSC Stirling DMU 3 
			 BCSE Chippenham BC 2 
			 BCSE Cosham BC 2 
			 BCSE Gloucester BC 1 
			 BCSE Plymouth BC 3 
			 BCSE St Austell BC 2 
			 BCSE Worthing BC 1 
			 BCWA Caerphilly BC 2 
			 BCWA Llanelli BC 2 
			 BCWA Merthyr Tydfil BC 2 
			 BCWA Merthyr Tydfil DMU 2 
			 BCWA Wrexham BC 3 
		
	
	(c) There is no ESA decision making activity in jobcentres.
	Source:
	Operational Activity Based Management Model 2012-13

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for employment and support allowance were processed within 16 days in each of the last four years; and in each case what proportion that represents of all the claims submitted.

Mark Hoban: The information available for employment and support allowance (ESA) new claims processed within 16 days, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 ESA Claims Processed April 2009 to March 2010 April 2010 to March 2011 April 2011 to March 2012 April 2012 to January 2013 
			 ESA claims processed in 16 days (number) 504,400 577,000 621,800 554,300 
		
	
	
		
			 ESA claims processed in 16 days (percentage) 72.9 81.0 84.5 82.7 
			 Source: Management Information System Programme (MISP). MISP is a departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tool. This type of internal management information does not form part of the official statistics outputs that are released by the Department in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice.

Employment: Private Sector

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs have been reclassified as private sector as a result of (a) the transfer of further education colleges from public to private sector and (b) outsourcing by local authorities since May 2010.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobs have been reclassified as private sector as a result of (a) the transfer of further education colleges from public to private sector and (b) outsourcing by local authorities since May 2010. (149384)
	Estimates of public and private sector employment are produced on a quarterly basis for reference periods March, June, September and December. Therefore estimates of public sector employment are not available for May 2010.
	On 1 April 2012, English further education colleges and sixth form college corporations were re-classified from the public sector to the private sector. As a result it is estimated that an employment of 196,000 moved from the public sector to the private sector between March 2012 and June 2012.
	No estimate has been made .of the employment reclassified to the private sector as a result of outsourcing by local authorities.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that households with children in bedrooms that are not large enough for two children to occupy will not be forced to move into homes with bedrooms that are too small for children to share as a result of the under-occupancy penalty;
	(2)  what guidance his Department is giving to those housing associations whose tenants are facing under-occupancy deductions to their housing benefit because they have children living in single rooms which are not large enough for two children to occupy;
	(3)  what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that households with children in single rooms that are not large enough for two children to occupy do not face under-occupancy deductions to their housing benefit.

Steve Webb: There is no definition of a minimum bedroom size set out in the regulations. It will be up to the landlord to accurately describe the property in line with the actual rent being charged.
	We are not proposing to issue separate guidance on the size of rooms or their suitability for use as a bedroom. As rent levels generally reflect the number of bedrooms in the property and may take into account their size, it is in the tenant's best interest to decide at the point of accepting the tenancy whether the rooms are of a suitable size for their needs.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government has published statutory guidance which includes advice to the effect that landlords, when allocating property, should make households aware of the implications in relation to housing benefit in the event of under-occupation.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the availability of social housing with bedrooms large enough for two children to share for the purposes of determining under-occupancy deductions to housing benefit;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of households with children in single rooms that are not large enough for two children to occupy that will face under-occupancy deductions to housing benefit.

Steve Webb: The Department does not hold information on bedroom size within the social rented sector.
	There is no definition of a minimum bedroom size set out in the regulations. It will be up to the landlord to accurately describe the property in line with the actual rent being charged.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 486W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, how many of the (a) 380,000 people affected and needing one bedroom properties and (b) 260,000 people affected and needing two bedroom properties are living in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland.

Steve Webb: The Department estimates that of the (a) around 380,000 claimants affected by the removal of the spare bedroom subsidy in 2013-14 and needing one bedroom properties:
	(i) around 300,000 will be living in England and
	(iii) around 60,000 will be living in Scotland.
	Samples sizes are too small to allow robust estimates for (ii) Wales.
	Of the (b) around 260,000 claimants affected and needing two bedroom properties in 2013-14, the Department estimates
	(i) around 220,000 are living in England.
	Samples sizes are too small to allow robust estimates for (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland.
	However, we expect that many claimants will choose not to move from their current home.

Incapacity Benefit: Greater Manchester

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2013, Official Report, column 773W, on incapacity benefit, how many claimants who have been reassessed for incapacity benefit in (a) Stalybridge and Hyde constituency and (b) Tameside metropolitan borough since May 2010 have not subsequently gone on to claim employment and support allowance.

Mark Hoban: The Department regularly publishes official statistics on incapacity benefits reassessment (IBR). The latest publication was released in January 2013 and is available here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_ibr
	Table 2 in the above publication provides outcomes for IBR claims broken down by region and local authority. Constituency level data are not available.

Incapacity Benefit: Greater Manchester

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 February 2013, Official Report, column 773W, on incapacity benefit, how many recipients of incapacity benefit have been referred to Work Choice in (a) Stalybridge and Hyde constituency and (b) Tameside Metropolitan Borough since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: Since 1 May 2010 and up to 31 December 2012, the number of referrals to Work Choice from customers who were in receipt of incapacity benefit, was nil or negligible in both Stalybridge and Hyde constituency and Tameside metropolitan borough.

Incapacity Benefit: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what date he expects the reassessment of the eligibility of individuals in Peterborough constituency in receipt of incapacity benefit to be complete.

Mark Hoban: The incapacity benefit reassessment process is expected to be completed by spring 2014.

Ingeus

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much is paid to Ingeus per person in (a) job retention fees and (b) substantiation payments.

Mark Hoban: The fee structure for the Work programme is available on the DWP website via this link (at figure 3 on page 7)
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/the-work-programme.pdf
	This document also explains minimum and incentive performance levels for the Work programme.

Jobcentre Plus

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 489W, on Jobcentre Plus, what suggestions from staff of his Department have been (a) received by his Department and (b) incorporated into policy.

Mark Hoban: We do not collect information in the format requested. Staff make suggestions in a wide variety of ways, for example our Bright Ideas scheme. These feed into the design of any new or existing policies and processes on an ongoing basis.

Jobcentre Plus

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 489W, on Jobcentre Plus, 
	(1)  how many existing staff have been transferred to the role of universal credit ambassador;
	(2)  what proportion of existing staffing allocations has been assigned to universal credit ambassadors.

Mark Hoban: No DWP staff have been transferred to a universal credit ambassador role as this is not a specific job. Ambassadors support their managers in communication activities and culture change around universal credit as part of their day to day duties.
	No resource from existing staff allocations has been assigned to universal credit ambassadors.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many internet access terminals have been placed in Jobcentre Plus offices to enable online submission of universal credit claims; and how much has been spent on providing such terminals in 2012-13 to date.

Mark Hoban: We are installing internet access devices (IADs) in our Jobcentres to help support those who do not have home access to the internet. At present, 706 sites have had IADs installed. In total this will provide 2,167 new IADs for our customers. Jobcentre staff will be available to provide claimants with any assistance required in using these devices.
	The total figure spent up to end of February 2013 is £711,407.92.

Annual Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies qualify for privilege days; and what the total cost to the public purse was of the number of privilege days utilised each year by such officials.

Mark Hoban: In 2011-12, 88,626 full-time equivalent officials working for the Department for Work and Pensions qualified for 2.5 days privilege leave. One of these days was granted under the authority of the Queen.
	The estimated cost was £24.26 million.
	The Department's non-departmental bodies have provided the following information:
	
		
			 Name of organisation Number of officials qualifying for privilege leave Total cost (£) 
			 Child Maintenance Group 7,898 2,034,827 
			 Independent Living Fund 122 25,492 
			 Health and Safety Executive 3,531 1,137,037 
			 National Employment Savings Trust Corporation 225 83,500 
			 Remploy Ltd 0 — 
			 Pensions Ombudsman/Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman (1)34.49 (2)— 
			 The Pensions Advisory Service — 5,723 
			 The Pensions Regulator 0 — 
			 (1) Average staff number. (2) Cost not available. 
		
	
	As part of Civil Service Reform, DWP is looking at some terms and conditions, including privilege leave.

Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what allowances and subsidies in addition to salary were available to officials in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value was of such payments and allowances in each such year.

Mark Hoban: For information prior to 2011-12 I refer the hon. Member to two previous answers my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), gave her on 17 November 2010, Official Report, columns 829-32W and 18 April 2012, Official Report, columns 391-6W.
	In DWP, details of the individual rates of allowances and payments payable since the Department's first harmonised pay award in 2002, under the previous Government, were provided in a separate table and placed in the Library. Details can be found in Hansard — 17 November 2012, Official Report, columns 829-32W. This information remains relevant.
	
		
			 Non-Departmental Public Bodies 
			 £ 
			 Body Payment/Allowance Type 2010-11 2011-12 
			 The Pension Regulator (TPR) Duty allowance 122,235.96 98,677.82 
			  Duty rota 15,601.89 15,552.00 
		
	
	
		
			  First aid 4,542.84 5,658.74 
			     
			 Pensions Ombudsman (PO) and Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman (PPFO) Responsibility Allowance (RA) 4,130 4,619.74. 
			  Management Allowance (MA) 2,962 4,827.91 
			  Temporary Duties Allowance (TDA) 5,873 10,703.90 
			     
			 Independent Living Fund (ILF) On Call Allowance 2,775.16 2,801.12 
			     
			 NEST Nil — — 
			     
			 The Pensions Advisory Service First Aid 240.00 240.00 
			     
			 Remploy Acting Up Allowance — 8,590 
			  Additional Role 1,212 202 
			  Call Out 15,540 5,246 
			  Car Allowance 1,200,000 1,077,837 
			  Disturbance Allowance 76,166 10,265 
			  Extra Duty Allowance 155,134 166,633 
			  First Aid 119,802 103,820 
			  First Aid Requalification 4,650 3,850 
			  Leading Hand 233,503 198,018 
			  London Weighting — 271,608 
			  Opening/Closing Allowance 124,814 117,228 
			  Pensionable Allowance 43,519 33,158 
			  Safety Officer 57,157 66,838 
			  Sales Commission 209,004 218,681 
			  Shift Pay and Unsocial Hours 214,978 113,976 
			  Relocation Allowance — 7,500 
			     
			 Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Abatement Compensation (1)— 301,375 
			  Chart Inst Pure and Supp (1)— 2,500 
			  Diploma in Accg and Fin (1)— 5,450 
			  Association of Accounting Technicians Test (1)— 800 
			  Inspec Mgmt Aberdeen (1)— 533,667 
			  SCS London Weighting — 16,586 
			  Responsibility Allowance — 6,438 
			  Temp Prom Allowance — 11,450 
			  Nuclear Allowance — 36,629 
			  London Weighting — 845,502 
			  Office for Civil Nuclear Security On-Call Allowance — 2,524 
			  United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority On-Call Allowance — 244 
			  London Pay Addition — 160 
			  Duty Off Allowance — 42,921 
			  Deputising Allowance — 54,141 
			  On Call Allowance — 4,627 
			  Specialist Pay Enhancement — 14,203 
			  Extra Duty — 43,760 
			  TARA (historic responsibility allowance for Chemical Regulation Directorate) — 1,435 
			     
			 Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission(2,3) Emergency Officers' Allowance 0 0 
			  Language Allowance 310 310 
			  Locational Allowance 0 833 
		
	
	
		
			  On Call Allowance 7,532 10,249 
			  Private Secretary Allowance 4,496 5,114 
			  Procurement Allowance 63,324 61,934 
			  Responsibility Allowance 9,335 19,368 
			  Responsibility on Temporary Duties Allowance 0 0 
			  Secondment Allowance 3,354 3,533 
			  Shorthand Audio Allowance 11 0 
			  Skills Allowance 12,523 12,821 
			  Skills Annual Allowance 11,162 11,500 
			  Typing Allowance 292 0 
			  Extended Working Allowance 2,079,932 1,992,669 
			  Miscellaneous Allowance 2,071 125 
			 (1) Information not available. (2) The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission transferred its functions into the DWP on 1 August 2012. It is now part of the DWP called The Child Maintenance Group. (3) Table excludes Temporary Duties Allowance where a member of staff is acting temporarily in a higher grade.

Recruitment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials were recruited to (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the number of officials recruited to the Department and each of its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years. All data are in financial years from 1 April to 31 March annually.
	
		
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Department for Work and Pensions 6,254 11,222 18,538 571 490 
			 National Employment Savings Trust Corporation 0 86 100 92 143 
			 Pensions Ombudsman/Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman 7 2 4 2 8 
			 The Pensions Advisory Service 2 4 5 5 4 
			 Health and Safety Executive 95 352 248 139 62 
			 Remploy 571 531 770 1,006 256 
			 Independent Living Fund 18 5 22 2 2

Sickness Absence

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many days (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies has lost to staff sickness in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such absence in each year.

Mark Hoban: The information for DWP is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Average working days lost (AWDL) per staff year Salary cost of sickness absence (£ million) 
			 2007-08 10.1 75.1 
			 2008-09 8.9 59.8 
			 2009-10 8.5 67.1 
			 2010-11 8.1 62.9 
			 2011-12 7.3 51.9 
		
	
	Average working days lost (AWDL) and salary cost sickness absence figures are not available for the non-departmental public bodies because the information is not centrally held by them.

Social Security Benefits

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households will be affected by the benefit cap in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England; and how many of those affected live in (i) social housing and (ii) private-rented housing.

Steve Webb: A breakdown of households affected by the benefit cap by parliamentary constituency has been placed in the Library and can be found at:
	http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-1587/LibraryDocument125527.pdf
	Please note that household numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. Areas with fewer than 100 households affected are denoted by “..”, as additional disclosure control has been applied to these areas. For this reason, figures will not sum to the total number of households affected in the July 2012 impact assessment for the household benefit cap. Due to these disclosure controls we are unable to state how many of those affected live in either social housing and/or private-rented housing.
	Around 900 households in Merseyside may be affected by the benefit cap, and around 40% of those affected live in social housing and 60% in private rented housing. Figures for Merseyside are based on a combined total of those affected in Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton, the Wirral and Knowsley local authorities.
	Around 52,000 households in England may be affected by the benefit cap, and of those affected around 55% live in social housing and 45% live in private rented housing.
	Please note as the benefit cap will be applied through a phased roll-out from 15 April 2013 and at a national level from 15 July 2013, at present no households have been affected by the cap. The figures are consistent with the impact assessment published on 16 July 2012. The figures in the table assume that the situation of these households will go unchanged, and they will not take any steps to either work enough hours to qualify for working tax credit, renegotiate their rent in situ, or find alternative accommodation. The Department is identifying and writing to all the households who are likely to be affected by the cap and we are offering advice and support through Jobcentre Plus, including, where appropriate, early access to the Work programme before the cap is introduced.
	The disregarding of housing costs for those in supported exempt accommodation announced in the autumn statement can not be allocated geographically therefore this has not been removed from the estimates presented here.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions have been imposed under the provisions of the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme) Regulations 2011 (a) in total and (b) on people on (i) jobseeker's allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance and (iii) other benefits in each year since their entry into force; and in respect of how many there has been (A) a reconsideration request and (B) an appeal.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many sanctions have been imposed on people on jobseeker's allowance in each year; and in respect of how many there has been (A) a reconsideration request and (B) an appeal for failing to participate in the following programmes; Work Programme, sector-based work academies, Skills Conditionality and New Enterprise Allowance can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
	Benefit sanctions imposed by the employment, skills and enterprise regulations 2011 do not impact on recipients of employment and support allowance or other benefits other than jobseeker's allowance claimants.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what was the total amount of benefit withheld as a result of benefit sanctions in each of the last four years.

Mark Hoban: The table shows the total amount of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) withheld to the nearest £ million (in actual prices) as a result of fixed sanctions in each of the last four years up to 22 October 2012:
	
		
			  Benefit withheld from fixed JSA sanctions (£ million) 
			 2009-10 11 
			 2010-11 43 
			 2011-12 45 
			 2012-13 (to October 2012) 60 
		
	
	The total amount of benefit withheld as a result of benefit sanctions is interpreted here as the maximum benefit amount that claimants would have received if they had continued to be on benefit for the length of the sanction. Since some people would have flowed off benefit in the period of the sanction and that also they might have flowed off benefit had they not received a sanction, the figures calculated represent overestimates for the actual benefit that might have been withheld.
	This calculation is performed for both people aged under 25 and over 25-years-old to reflect different JSA rates.
	The calculation does not net the figures for hardship payments.
	The amount of benefit withheld as a result for employment and support allowance sanctions is not available because the number of sanctions is not available for employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants. The sanctions regime for people on ESA in the Work Related Activity Group changed at the beginning of December 2012. As a result of the changes to the regime, the Department for Work and Pensions has reviewed its methodology for publishing ESA sanctions official statistics with a view to ensuring the publication remains relevant while also seeking to maintain a consistent time series.
	The amount of benefit withheld as a result of income support lone parent sanctions is not readily available because we do not have data on sanction duration between application of sanction and end of the sanction when the claimant re-complies.
	The amount of benefit withheld is not readily available for JSA varied sanctions. Data on duration of varied sanctions are of variable quality.
	Over half of the difference between amounts in 2009-10 and 2010-11 can be explained by application of the new fixed sanction for failure to attend an advisory interview from April 2010, which used to be a disentitlement.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit sanctions issued in the most recent year for which data are available have been subject to a reconsideration request; how many such sanctions have been overturned on reconsideration; of those sanctions not overturned on appeal, how many have been subject to a subsequent appeal; and of those appeals, how many have been upheld.

Mark Hoban: The information is as follows:
	(a) Statistics on how many benefit sanctions issued to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants in the most recent year for which data are available have been subject to a reconsideration request and how many such sanctions have been overturned on reconsideration can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
	(b) Statistics for those sanctions in (a) not overturned on appeal, how many have been subject to a subsequent appeal; and of those appeals, how many have been upheld, are not readily available and to provide them would incur disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Learning Disability

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that moderate to mild learning difficulties in adults are recognised within (a) employment and support allowance and (b) the work capability assessment.

Mark Hoban: We are committed to supporting people with mental health conditions or learning difficulties to access the right benefits and the right support.
	Recognising that particular concerns have been raised about the way the work capability assessment (WCA) works for people with mental health conditions, Professor Harrington asked leading charities Mind, Mencap and the National Autistic Society to make recommendations to refine the mental, intellectual and cognitive descriptors used in the WCA as part of his second independent review.
	Professor Harrington agreed with us that further evidence was required to establish whether the charities' proposed descriptors would make the assessment fairer or more accurate, and recommended a ‘gold standard’ review. As such the Department has committed to conducting a systematic evidence based review (EBR) of the existing and proposed WCA activities and descriptors in order to make the WCA fairer and more accurate.
	Since summer 2012, DWP has worked extensively with the charities to ensure there is a single assessment that combines recommendations from the mental functioning and fluctuating conditions groups and that the descriptors are suitable for testing. We also have a steering group in place, chaired by Professor Harrington to oversee the review. We expect the testing of the alternative assessment to be in spring 2013 with a final report to be published later in the year.

Social Security Benefits: South East

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefits claimants resident in (a) Bromley, (b) Enfield, (c) Croydon and (d) Haringey have moved into the Thames Valley area and continued claiming in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Telephone Services

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department's customer service telephone lines are restricted to those beginning 0870.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not operate any 0870 customer service telephone lines. The DWP uses 0800 service lines for calls to claim benefit or request emergency payments and 0845 service lines for when people call for other reasons, and these are calls that typically take less time to resolve.

Termination of Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have left that body due to (i) resignation, (ii) retirement, (iii) redundancy, (iv) transferral to another public sector post and (v) another reason in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: The information for the Department for Work and Pensions is provided in the following table. All data are in financial years from 1 April to 31 March annually.
	
		
			  Reporting year 
			 Leaving reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Resignation 4,707 3,338 3,036 4,871 2,429 
			 Retirement 982 1,310 1,195 1,258 1,442 
			 Redundancy(1) 3,620 148 42 1,564 1,113 
			 Transferral to another public sector post 858 484 290 375 786 
			 Another reason 3,421 (2)13,791 3,222 3,493 5,751 
			 Grand total 13,588 19,071 7,785 11,561 11,521 
			 (1) The figures shown under the redundancy heading include all exits paid out of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme since 2007-08. This includes compensation paid through the use of voluntary exit schemes, voluntary redundancy and compulsory redundancy schemes. (2 )10,560 Child Support Agency (CSA) officials transferred from the Ministerial Department to the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission (CMEC) when it was established in October 2008. 
		
	
	The information for the non-departmental public bodies is provided in the following tables. All data are in financial years from 1 April to 31 March annually.
	
		
			 Health and Safety Executive 
			  Reporting year 
			 Leaving reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Resignation 134 119 57 80 63 
			 Retirement 92 87 86 87 60 
			 Redundancy 0 0 0 3 21 
			 Transferral to another public sector post 55 102 42 13 17 
			 Another reason 36 54 39 222 39 
			 Grand total 317 362 224 405 200 
		
	
	
		
			 National Employment Savings Trust Corporation 
			  Reporting year 
			 Leaving reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Resignation 0 45 36 36 33 
			 Retirement 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Redundancy 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Transferral to another public sector post 0 35 36 16 16 
			 Another reason 0 0 18 45 46 
			 Grand total 0 80 90 97 95 
		
	
	
		
			 Pensions Ombudsman/Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman 
			  Reporting year 
			 Leaving reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Resignation 6 2 1 2 0 
			 Retirement 2 2 0 1 0 
			 Redundancy 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Transferral to another public sector post 1 0 2 0 4 
			 Another reason 9 6 3 3 6 
			 Grand total 18 10 6 6 10 
		
	
	
		
			 The Pensions Regulator 
			  Reporting year 
			 Leaving reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Resignation 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Retirement 0 6 3 2 1 
			 Redundancy 0 13 8 1 10 
			 Transferral to another public sector post 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Another reason 0 149 131 105 95 
			 Grand total 0 168 142 108 106 
		
	
	
		
			 The Pensions Advisory Service 
			  Reporting year 
			 Leaving reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Resignation 0 1 5 5 4 
			 Retirement 0 0 1 2 1 
			 Redundancy 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Transferral to another public sector post 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Another reason 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Grand total 0 1 6 9 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Remploy 
			  Reporting year 
			 Leaving reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Resignation 194 178 150 245 132 
			 Retirement 113 74 49 52 37 
			 Redundancy 1,436 586 83 70 733 
			 Transferral to another public sector post 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Another reason 365 317 267 641 435 
			 Grand total 2,108 1,155 549 1,008 1,337 
		
	
	
		
			 Independent Living Fund 
			  Reporting year 
			 Leaving reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Resignation 8 14 7 7 0 
			 Retirement 2 0 3 2 0 
			 Redundancy 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Transferral to another public sector post 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Another reason 3 1 3 8 (1)46 
		
	
	
		
			 Grand total 13 15 13 18 46 
			 (1)All leavers for “Another reason” in 2011-12 left via Voluntary Exit Scheme, when the Independent Living Fund needed to reduce in size by 35%.

Unemployment: Young People

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received Youth Contract wage subsidies since the launch of that scheme.

Mark Hoban: In most cases the wage incentive element of the Youth Contract is paid after a young person has been in work continuously for 26 weeks. Following the collection and quality assurance of these data, the first set of Official Statistics on the wage incentive should be available in the next few months.
	The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent assessment is of the preparedness of future applicants for universal credit to submit their applications online; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: A survey of existing claimants found 78% already use the internet and 74% have a home broadband connection. Online access to universal credit and other DWP services is being designed to be compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2, to level AA, with compliance to some AAA guidelines where these are deemed appropriate. All our products are being developed using the DWP guidelines for level of literacy required of between nine and 13 years of age and to be compliant with disability legislation. This will ensure that online services are accessible to the vast majority of users. We are also taking the opportunity to simplify the language we use.
	Jobcentre Plus advisers are helping people who lack the skills or confidence to use online services to develop their digital skills, often in partnership with local charities, libraries and businesses.
	The Department has installed a total of 2,167 new Internet Access Devices (IADs) in Jobcentres for those who do not have their own computer, and we will ensure that digital skills are a key part of the support offered to jobseekers to help them back to work.
	For those who lack the skills or confidence to use online services, Jobcentre Plus advisers are helping them to develop their digital skills, often in partnership with local charities, libraries and businesses. We are also working with partners such as Digital Unite, UK Online and GoON to develop digital skills more widely across society. We will use our existing phone and face-to-face channels to signpost people to digital options and help people to use digital services where they are having difficulties.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent changes he has made to projects to deliver the elements of the universal credit system being led by (a) Accenture, (b) BT, (c) Cap Gemini, (d) Hewlett Packard and (e) IBM; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Departments IT contractors remain focused on delivering the Pathfinder for April 2013, and supporting the wider roll-out for October 2013.

Work Capability Assessment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to whom Mental Function Champions (a) report and (b) are accountable; and how such a reporting process is documented.

Mark Hoban: Mental Function Champions report to their line managers within Atos Healthcare. There is an annual appraisal process for all health care professionals.

Work Capability Assessment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what formal qualifications in mental health are required to be held by Mental Function Champions before they embark on their role.

Mark Hoban: Health care professionals are not required to hold specialist qualifications in mental health conditions. As part of their induction training all health care professionals receive training in mental health issues.
	Mental Function Champions are selected from within the ranks of Atos Healthcare professionals based on their previous mental health experience and proven experience as a disability analyst. All Mental Function Champions receive additional facilitated training on mental health topics and are expected to maintain their subject expertise through continuous professional development.

Work Capability Assessment

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessment cases were decided, and what number of claims were (a) rejected, (b) approved on the basis of an ATOS assessment and (c) approved after consideration of additional information in the most recent month for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Decisions on entitlement to ESA rest solely with the Department's decision makers taking into account the medical assessment reports from Atos and any other relevant information.
	The Department regularly publishes official statistics on work capability assessment outcomes for employment and support allowance and incapacity benefits reassessment. Statistics on whether additional information was taken into consideration by the decision maker when making their decision on eligibility for employment and support allowance are not available.
	The publications can be found here:
	Employment and Support Allowance:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca
	Incapacity Benefits Reassessment:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_ibr

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time equivalent officials in his Department work on delivery of the Work programme.

Mark Hoban: As a major part of the Government's efforts to get people off benefit and into work, the Work programme touches almost every part of the Department, involving job roles as diverse as front line personal advisers and finance staff making payments to providers. Few of these job roles are devoted exclusively to the Work programme. Given the breadth and depth of the Department's work on the programme it is not possible to calculate how many full-time equivalent officials are involved.

Work Programme: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Work programme participants in Wales have (a) received a sanction and (b) received a sanction and disputed it since the inception of the programme.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many Work programme participants in receipt of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) in Wales who have (a) received a sanction and (b) received a sanction and disputed it since the inception of the programme are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of JSA claimants with a sanction referral for failing to participate in the Work programme in Wales Jobcentre Plus Group by sanction decision: 1 June 2011 to 21 October 2012 
			 Sanction decision Total 
			 Applied 5,900 
			 Reconsidered 2,780 
			 Appealed 120 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. The number of sanctions applied is the number of referrals where there has been an adverse decision. 3. The decision to apply a sanction can be overturned following reconsideration or appeal by the Sector Decision Maker. 4. All figures may include individuals who have had more than one sanction decision eg if an individual has a sanction applied and another sanction appealed then they will appear twice. 5. A fixed length sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for refusal, without good cause, to attend an employment programme or carry out a Jobseeker's Direction. Payment of benefit continues in full pending the Adjudication Officer's decision on a sanction question. 6. Jobcentre Plus Group: Formerly known as Jobcentre Plus Regions. Jobcentre Plus Groups were updated to reflect changes to the hierarchical structure of Jobcentre Plus implemented on 5 April 2011 from 11 regions to seven groups. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database.

TREASURY

Credit: Databases

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what date he expects the small and medium-sized enterprises credit database to be operational; and what deadlines, benchmarks and timetables he or his officials have set for that process.

Greg Clark: The Government have committed to investigate options for improving access to SME credit data to make it easier for newer lenders to assess loans to smaller businesses.
	The Government are currently carrying out further analysis into this issue and will provide an update once this work has reached a conclusion.

Financial Services: Advisory Services

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of (a) small business advisors and (b) individual financial advisors who will cease to trade following the introduction of the proposals in the Retail Distributive Review.

Sajid Javid: This is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA). This question has been passed on to the FSA. The FSA will reply to the hon. Member directly by letter. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Financial Services: Advisory Services

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of the proposals in the Retail Distributive Review on the ability of low net worth investors to obtain affordable independent financial advice.

Sajid Javid: The Financial Services Authority's Retail Distribution Review aims to raise the professional standards of advisers, improve the clarity with which firms describe their services to consumers and make clear the cost of investment advice—addressing the commonly held perception that advice is free.
	For a significant group of consumers, including low net worth individuals, it may not be justifiable for them to pay for advice based on the amount they have to invest. For these consumers, generic, free advice services, including the Money Advice Service, will remain a useful source of guidance, enabling consumers to make informed decisions about their finances.

Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the Secretary of State for Health on funding decisions for eculizumab for treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome.

Danny Alexander: The Chancellor has not received any representations from the Secretary of State for Health on funding decisions for eculizumab for treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome.

Individual Savings Accounts: Children

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential effects of (a) levels of charges and (b) rates of interest on the savings of children with (i) child trust funds and (ii) junior ISAs;
	(2)  what action he is taking to ensure that children with child trust funds are not financially disadvantaged relative to those with junior ISAs;
	(3)  for what reasons parents whose children have child trust funds are not allowed to transfer such funds into junior ISAs.

Sajid Javid: The Government keep all matters relating to tax-advantaged children's saving accounts under review, and have ensured that children with Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts are not disadvantaged by increasing the CTF subscription limit to equal the Junior ISA limit. The Government want to support parents by ensuring that there continues to be a clear and simple way to save for all children, and will therefore consult on options for transferring savings held in CTFs into Junior ISAs.

National Asset Register

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the decision was made not to publish the revised, updated National Asset Register.

Danny Alexander: The decision to stop the publication of a National Asset Register was made preceding the first publication of Whole of Government Accounts for 2009-10.

National Insurance Contributions: Charities

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to the Financial Statement of 20 March 2013, Official Report, column 944, what estimate he has made of the likely amount UK charities will receive in total as a result of the employment allowance;
	(2)  how many charities he estimates will benefit from the employment allowance.

Sajid Javid: Up to 35,000 charities with employees are expected to benefit from the employment allowance, by around £45 million a year in total. These estimates are derived from HMRC analysis based on publicly available Charity Aid Foundation data.

National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many firms have (a) applied and (b) taken up the regional employer national insurance contributions holiday to date.

David Gauke: The NICs Holiday Factsheet was recently published on HMRC’s website, providing a breakdown of take up by region, constituency, local authority and employer size. The factsheet shows data up to 31 December 2012, at which point there had been 20,365 registrations and 576 unsuccessful applications (as set out in table 1.4).
	To date around 22,000 registrations for the Regional Employer NICs Holiday have been received, supporting an estimated 70,000 jobs.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/nics-hol/nic-hol-mar13.xls

Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what allowances and subsidies in addition to salary were available to officials in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value was of such payments and allowances in each such year.

Sajid Javid: Details of allowances paid in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 are shown in the following table. Details of allowances paid in the preceding two years were provided to the hon. Member on 20 December 2010, Official Report, column 972W.
	
		
			 £000 
			 Allowance 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Procurement 25 25 9 
			 Temp. Duties — — — 
			 Cost of living (overseas) 65 44 29 
			 Hardship (low quality overseas accommodation) — — — 
			 Fast stream 5 2 3 
			 Other (non pensionable) — — — 
			 Additional performance 50 65 27 
			 Bursary (professional training) — — — 
			 Language 9 8 4 
			 Responsibility 205 238 250 
			 Press Office 49 44 50 
			 Private Secretary 225 190 173 
			 Misc 18 2 3 
			 On call 0 0 — 
			 Typing 1 1 1 
			 Meal (for working after 8 pm) 12 8 4 
			 Additional housing cost 3 1 — 
			 Excess rent (overseas) — — — 
			 London (for Senior Civil Service Band 1 staff) 167 151 128 
			 Internal Audit 14 16 11 
			 Accountancy 66 67 63 
			 Clothing — — — 
			 Indirect representation — — — 
			 Vehicle — — — 
			 Total 914 862 755 
		
	
	Spending on allowances has reduced steadily since 2009-10, mainly due to staff reductions.

Statutory Sick Pay

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people received statutory sick pay in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in each of the last three years; and what the duration was of each such claim.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	Individual employers meet the cost of statutory sick pay for their employees. The information the right hon. Gentleman requested is not collected by Government Departments.

Tax Avoidance

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to close corporation tax loopholes to ensure that multinational companies involved in corporate tax avoidance pay higher amounts of tax.

David Gauke: Where loopholes in the UK tax system are identified, the Government takes swift and robust action to close them down. Budget 2013 demonstrated this by closing down seven newly identified Corporation Tax loopholes.
	Alongside this, the UK has been at the forefront in taking forward work to strengthen international tax standards, through the G20 and OECD, to tackle the issue of base erosion and profit shifting by multinational companies. This is an international issue that requires coordinated international action to resolve.